Josh Ho-Sang

Josh Ho-Sang

Young man wearing hockey jersey and helmet

Born (1996-01-22) January 22, 1996
Toronto, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Right Wing/Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 New York Islanders
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
NHL Draft 28th overall, 2014
New York Islanders
Playing career 2016–present

Joshua Ho-Sang (born January 22, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, and a prospect of the New York Islanders. He formerly played junior hockey for the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Ho-Sang was selected by the Islanders in the first round (28th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The Toronto Sun described him in June 2014 as a "singular hockey player of immense talent, caught on an island of discourse." He said of himself: "I'm more emotional than most people. That poses a problem for the hockey world. A lot of players are trained to hold their emotions.... I love to dangle. I love to play an offensive game. I love to celebrate when I score."[1]

Early and personal life

Ho-Sang is Jewish,[2][3] and was born in Toronto, Ontario. His hometown is Thornhill, Ontario, a Toronto suburb.[4] He said he has "always celebrated the Jewish holidays like Chanukah and the High Holidays with family and friends."[5] When he was 17 years old, Toronto Sun writer Steve Simmons, an expert on Jews in hockey, predicted that he “might be better than all” the previous Jewish ice hockey players (which included the then-current Jewish NHL players center Michael Cammalleri, right winger Mike Brown, left winger Eric Nystrom, and center Jeff Halpern).[6]

His father, Wayne, is a black Jamaican professional tennis player from Kingston, Jamaica, whose grandfather is Chinese from Hong Kong. His business analyst mother Ericka is Jewish and was born in Santiago, Chile, to Russian and Swedish parents.[1][3][7][8][9] His father immigrated to Canada from Jamaica at the age of 10, and his mother immigrated to Canada from Chile at the age of 12.[8][10][11]

His brother Khole is five years his junior.[10] At age 13 in November 2014, Khole was a member of Team Ontario in American football and was slated to play for Canada in the 2015 Snooper Bowl, an international Pop Warner Football competition.[12] As a first degree black belt in taekwondo, he finished second in his category at Nationals in 2014, and was named to Team Ontario and the Canadian national team.[12]

Playing career

Junior

Ho-Sang played for the Minor Midget AAA Toronto Marlboros of the Greater Toronto Hockey League in 2011–12, and competing against older players had 79 points (31 goals, 48 assists) in 30 games, despite being double-teamed and triple-teamed at times.[5][13][14] Windsor Spitfires general manager and former NHL player Warren Rychel said that Ho-Sang's work when one-on-one against a goaltender was the best he had ever seen.[14]

Ho-Sang was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 1st round (5th overall) of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection.[5] He was rated a top prospect.[15]

In December 2012 he played for Team Ontario at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[5] In five games, he had three goals and two assists.[5]

Ho-Sang played with the Windsor Spitfires starting in the 2012–13 OHL season. In 2012–13, he was sixth among all OHL rookies with 44 points (14 goals and 30 assists), in 63 games.[16] In 2013–14, he led the Spitfires in scoring with 85 points (32 goals, 53 assists) in 67 games, adding 3 points (1 goal and 2 assists) in four OHL playoff games.[16]

He was recognized for his outstanding play when he was chosen to play the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[17] On April 5, 2014, the OHL suspended Ho-Sang for 15 games (later reduced to 6 games) from the start of the 2014–15 OHL season.[18] The suspension was the result of an illegal push from behind by Ho-Sang against 228-pound London Knights' defenceman Zach Bell during their March 27, 2014, Conference quarter-final game, that resulted in Bell breaking his leg; Ho-Sang was originally just given a two-minute minor penalty for holding.[19][20][21][22]

Ho-Sang started the 2014–15 season leading the Spitfires in scoring with 3 goals and 19 points in 11 games.[21] He had 49 goals and 148 points in 141 career regular-season games for the Spitfires.[21] He was traded in November 2014 to the Niagara IceDogs of the OHL for Hayden McCool and three second-round Ontario Hockey League draft picks.[21]

Professional

Ho-Sang was listed as # 22 on NHL Central Scouting's list of the top North American skaters eligible for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He was selected in the first round, 28th overall, by the New York Islanders.[11][16] NHL Central Scouting’s Chris Edwards said: "He handles the puck very well at top speed and sees the ice well. His skating is excellent and his first step is explosive."[23]

Islanders General Manager Garth Snow indicated he was not worried about Ho-Sang fitting in, saying: "He'll fit right in. They shit on me too."[24][25] And: "We get the players that we feel can help us win. [And] we don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks."[26] In October 2014, Ho-Sang and the Islanders agreed to terms on a US$3.4 million three-year, entry-level contract.[10][16]

Ho-Sang attended the Islanders training camp, before being reassigned to the Spitfires for the 2014–15 season.

Ho-Sang was immediately returned to the OHL as punishment after being late to the first day of Islanders training camp on September 18, 2015. Arthur Staple of Newsday Sports tweeted, "Ho-Sang was late for the first day of #Isles training camp. He's been sent back to Niagara of the OHL. Camp over for him." [27]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Windsor Spitfires OHL 63 14 30 44 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Windsor Spitfires OHL 67 32 53 85 44 4 1 2 3 10
2014–15 Windsor Spitfires OHL 11 3 16 19 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Niagara IceDogs OHL 49 14 48 62 38 11 1 15 16 18
2015–16 Niagara IceDogs OHL 66 19 63 82 44 17 6 20 26 8
OHL totals 256 82 210 292 156 32 8 37 45 36

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Canada Ontario U17 6th 5 3 2 5 0
Junior totals 5 3 2 5 0

Awards and honours

Honours Year
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2014 [28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Steve Simmons (June 24, 2014). "The curious case of controversial NHL prospect Joshua Ho-Sang," Toronto Sun.
  2. ↑ "Professional Hockey Review: 2014–15; Canadian Hockey League". Jewish Sports Review. 9 (107): 4. January–February 2015.
  3. 1 2 Dave Feschuk (October 21, 2011). "Toronto teenager 'the elite of the elite; At 15, Joshua Ho-Sang is one of the most talked-about teenaged players in hockey, and is expected to be among the top picks in next spring's Ontario Hockey League draft.". Toronto Star.
  4. ↑ "Josh Ho-Sang; Niagara IceDogs". ontariohockeyleague.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Jack Borenstein (February 26, 2013). "Joshua takes hockey development in his stride". The Jewish Tribune.
  6. ↑ Hillel Kutler (January 21, 2014). "The greatest oxymoron in U.S. sports? Jews and professional ice hockey; Hockey may have no iconic Jewish athletes like other major sports, but the likely first-round draft pick Joshua Ho-Sang could one day spell a change.". Haaretz.
  7. ↑ Dov Ivry (June 16, 2014). "Meet Josh Ho-Sang". The Times of Israel.
  8. 1 2 Craig Custance (June 25, 2014). "NHL – Josh Ho-Sang is ultra-skilled and well rounded, but also frustrating". ESPN.
  9. ↑ Jeff Z. Klein and Allan Kreda (June 28, 2014). "Islanders Take Brash Player, Ignoring Doubts of Other Teams", The New York Times.
  10. 1 2 3 Bob Duff (November 14, 2014). "Being Josh Ho-Sang means doing the unexpected". The Windsor Star.
  11. 1 2 Mike G. Morreale (May 1, 2014). "Joshua Ho-Sang of Windsor Spitfires makes name with flair for dramatic". NHL.com.
  12. 1 2 Bob Duff (November 14, 2014). "Younger Ho-Sang also elite athlete". The Windsor Star.
  13. ↑ "Joshua Ho-Sang". NHL.com.
  14. 1 2 "Spitfires find hidden gem; The Windsor Spitfires were excited to see Thornhill's Josh Ho-Sang slip to No. 5 in last month's Ontario Hockey League Draft," April 19, 2012, The Windsor Star
  15. ↑ Neate Sager (February 27, 2014). "NHL draft tracker: Josh Ho-Sang, Windsor Spitfires". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Spitfires' Ho-Sang signs with Islanders". OHL Network. October 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ Laurence Heinen (January 5, 2014). "Team Orr beats Team Cherry in CHL Top Prospects Game". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ Sager, Neate (May 29, 2014). "NHL draft prospect's Josh Ho-Sang's OHL suspension handled curiously". Yahoo Sports.
  19. ↑ Dave Caldwell (July 11, 2014). "Ho-Sang, Dal Colle Raising Hopes at Islanders Rookie Camp". Wall Street Journal.
  20. ↑ "Ho-Sang suspended 15 games for hit on Knights defenseman". The Windsor Star. April 5, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Video: Spits deal Ho-Sang to IceDogs". The Windsor Star. November 14, 2014.
  22. ↑ Jim Parker (October 15, 2014). "Spits hope for spark with return of Ho-Sang", The Windsor Star.
  23. ↑ Stephen Leithwood (November 14, 2014). "Spitfires trade Ho-Sang to IceDogs". Niagara this Week.
  24. ↑ "Live updates from the NHL draft". Q.
  25. ↑ "Isles GM Snow has meltdown at draft". NY Daily News.
  26. ↑ "NHL Draft 2014: Panthers' turn on stage a showstopper". Sporting News.
  27. ↑ http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=1953847
  28. ↑ Jim Parker (January 15, 2014). "Ekblad, Ho-Sang to showcase talents". Windsor Star. Retrieved January 15, 2014.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Michael Dal Colle		 New York Islanders first round pick
2014 		Succeeded by
Mathew Barzal
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