When the New York Islanders landed Josh Ho-Sang with the 28th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, it was viewed as a bit of a risky pick. Despite immense skills, Ho-Sang had red flags about his character and attitude which had him tumbling down draft boards throughout the year.
As a result, Ho-Sang has become a polarizing figure. Some feel he has had his reputation unfairly sullied, while others look at the problems that led to his exit from the Windsor Spitfires and his repeated omission from Hockey Canada rosters as feeding the narrative.
Well, now there’s something else to add.
Ho-Sang was shockingly sent him back to his junior club, the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League, on the opening day of camp. The Islanders still hold his rights, but the early departure was a surprise. So why did he get sent down so quickly?
According to Arthur Staple of Newsday:
Joshua 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.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) September 18, 2015
Ho-Sang’s camp is over before it even begun. And it gets worse:
Ho-Sang was also going to skate this weekend on the right side with Tavares and Lee. Clearly #Isles value him.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) September 18, 2015
That's a big opportunity that was being handed to the young man to show the best version of himself in the hopes of extending his stay.
Ho-Sang is a player with a lot of promise, but also one who wasn’t necessarily expected to make the team this season. That said, participating in an NHL training camp is a major development opportunity missed for a 19-year-old with all of the physical tools suggesting a bright future in the game. That’s especially true if they were going to give him a chance to skate with one of the best players in the league today.
Ho-Sang has fought back against his bad rap in the past. He defended himself vehemently before the draft, which endeared him to many fans and apparently Isles GM Garth Snow. And even this week there were reports of his good behavior leading up to camp and in other team activities.
Ho-Sang, fairly or unfairly, is not in a position to make this kind of mistake though. Reputation aside, he has to earn his way like any other rookie. The Islanders weren’t in a position to let this slide, either. They have a responsibility to the other prospects and players in camp, as well as Ho-Sang himself, to not make any exceptions on something like this. The fact that the player in question was unlikely to make the team probably made this an easy decision, despite the developmental benefits of his being about to spend a few weeks skating alongside and against NHL competition.
The details in this situation are scant, so it’s hard to know just how egregious of an infraction this really was. If John Tavares was late for practice, he wouldn’t be sent home, obviously, but that’s part of being a rookie. You’re having to prove you deserve to be there, which is best done by putting in the work along with everyone else, being there when everyone else is and in some cases, doing more than everyone else. The team does Ho-Sang no good if they handle him with kid gloves, whether the character concerns are valid or not.
This is an unfortunate distraction to start a training camp for a team with a whole lot of expectations heading into the 2015-16 season. So I doubt this decision was taken lightly by those that made it. Maybe there’s some long-term value here despite some short-term pain.
It's a harsh lesson to learn for Ho-Sang, but one the Islanders couldn't afford to miss delivering.
