There’s never been any question about his talent. But when Josh Ho-Sang slept in and was late for the first day of New York Islanders training camp, it sure brought up the many, many questions about his attitude.
The Isles sent him back to junior and told him to “grow up”.
Embarrassed by the demotion, he proceeded to lead the Niagara IceDogs in scoring. His 82 points were 23 more than the next highest total on the team. He added 26 more points in 17 playoff games.
The Isles were pleased with what they saw.
“He’s focused in,” the club’s director of player development, Eric Cairns, told NHL.com. “He took some steps this year towards being a more reliable guy off the ice, as well as on the ice. He’s a mature guy, but he also needs to keep on learning the steps to do the right things at all time, which is normal for a lot of different young men. It’s not the first time anything like that has happened, it’s not going to be the last. But he seems to be in as good a place as I’ve ever seen him.”
H0-Sang will turn pro next season, likely starting in the AHL with Bridgeport. He still thinks about what happened at camp, but he’s looking forward to showing the Isles he’s serious about his career.
“I know I still have a lot to prove to the NHL guys,” he said. “I want them to respect me and know that I’m not there to waste their time.”