A native of Fort William, Ontario, Bodnar started his career with the local Fort William Rangers of the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League. He played for the Rangers for three seasons from 1941–43 and competed for the Memorial Cup twice in 1941–42 and 1942–43.\n', '

After leading the TBJHL in points in 1942–43, Bodnar joined the Toronto Maple Leafs. On October 30, 1943, Bodnar scored his first ever NHL goal 15 seconds in his first NHL game, setting the record for fastest goal by a player in his first NHL game. Bodnar scored 62 points during the regular season, a career best, and he beat Montreal Canadiens rookie goaltender Bill Durnan in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1943–44. He spent four more seasons with the Maple Leafs and won two Stanley Cups in 1944–45 and 1946–47. Bodnar had 40 assists in his rookie season in 1943–44, which would set a record for assists by a Maple Leafs rookie until surpassed by Mitch Marner in 2016–17.\n', '

In 1947–48, Bodnar and fellow linemates Gaye Stewart, Ernie Dickens, Bud Poile and Bob Goldham were traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in exchange for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas. Bodnar remained in Chicago for seven seasons from 1947 to 1954. He also played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1950–51. On March 23, 1952, Bodnar set another NHL record by recording three assists in 21 seconds. With that record, he also helped teammate Bill Mosienko set the record for fastest hat-trick in NHL history In 1953–54, Bodnar was traded to the Boston Bruins midway through the season. He would remain with the Bruins for one more season in 1954–55, before retiring.\n', '

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