After a tumultuous five years with the New York Islanders, Joshua Ho-Sang has requested a trade from the organization that drafted him 28th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. And the talented forward is willing to do whatever it takes to get his fresh start.
Following news of Ho-Sang’s trade request — which came after the winger was once again assigned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate following training camp, and went unclaimed on waivers — the 23-year-old did not report to AHL Bridgeport for his minor-league assignment.
However, it appears Ho-Sang isn’t opposed to starting his 2019-20 campaign in the AHL, if that’s what’s required to secure a move.
“[Ho-Sang is] going around to teams and he’s letting them know he will do whatever it takes to get a fresh start, including start in the American Hockey League,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada’s ‘Headlines’ segment. “So, if that’s what a team wants him to do, he will do it.”
Ho-Sang spent 56 games with Bridgeport last season, posting 43 points in that span. He earned 10 games at the NHL level in 2018-19, putting up one goal and one assist for the Islanders.
The Toronto, Ont., native played 50 games in the AHL in each of the previous two seasons as well, topping 30 points in both campaigns. Through three seasons as a professional following his junior-hockey tenure in the OHL, Ho-Sang has appeared in 53 big-league games, posting 24 career points in total.
Though his NHL experience has been a tumultuous one thus far, Ho-Sang’s junior career — which concluded with a dominant 82-point effort in Niagara, and was highlighted by a 32-goal, 85-point season in Windsor a few years earlier — makes clear his potential to eventually be a game-changer at the NHL level.
[relatedlinks]
