Joshua Ho-Sang, Center/Right-wing, 1st Round

[GrandmaSlices51631]

I posted this over in the NHL Draft board but it pretty well sums up my feelings on Ho-Sang:

Ho-Sang appears to me to be a brash kid with a big mouth and a ton of talent. He comes across as smart, cocky and driven. Given where he was taken and the prospect pool we have, it was a calculated risk that was well worth the cost. We can afford to have him fail and still be juuusssttt fine. Combine that with the school boy types we have in Tavares, Okposo, Nelson and Strome....I think they'll straighten him out, if he needs straightening.

I just think you all need to keep in mind that this is an 18 year old kid. If there were a microphone around recording everything i said and did when I was 18...****, i dont even wanna think about it. THis is the new reality...everything recorded at every time. I think some of us just need to get used to this new paradigm and get over that EVERYONE says stupid **** from time to time.

Of more concern to me is whether or not he can play well with others on the ice. The one critique that stood out to me is that he can be a one man band on the ice. I dont like that. To me, thats his biggest issue. If he figures that out, he's got all the talent, all the one on one skills you want to make the highlights every night.

He has to be the most intriguing prospect in the draft and i for one, am rooting for him.

Let's not anticipating him failing and us being "just fine". I do agree with your overall point , but what would prevent him from moving forward? His raw talent and athleticism is unique and rare. I think the media is putting a magnifying glass over his so called "character flaws".

I actually like the way he conducts himself, just because he isn't you're stereotypical mild mannered All-Canadian boy isn't a reason to write him off. So many players come off as generic when they communicate to the media and he's different. I don't care what he says to reporters, what matters is how he communicates with his teammates. I believe his personality is very compatible with the team. He want's to win, he will be playing alongside people he admires and looks up to, everything points to the fact he'll be a great fit on this team.

Snow made the right choice when acquiring this pick and how he used it. There are alot of people with their face in their palm wondering how the Isles wound up with him. Prior to the pick, many fans on HF were speculating and crossing their fingers in hopes that they got Ho-Sang. Now that we got him, people are labeling him a bust.

He's gonna do just fine in the NHL ...

 

[Jester9881]

I haven't heard any instances where he clashed with team mates.... just where he's gotten on the nerves of the press.

 

[seafoam]

Loved the pick at the time, love it even more now.

I really hope this kid pans out, it would be great for us. He's really generating a lot of buzz for the Isles (in my opinion).

 

[InformTheMasses]

Dal Colle played on a pretty stacked Oshawa team. When you tally Dal Colle's points from both OHL seasons he had 54 goals, 83 assists for 143 points in 130 regular-season games. Ho-Sang over those 2 seasons in the OHL with a much weaker team in Windsor, he ended up with 46 goals, 83 assists for 129 points in 130 games. So 14 points difference between Dal Colle and Ho-Sang along with the fact Dal Colle was on a much better team makes me very excited we got Ho-Sang.

I don't see why scouts can pin the whole selfish thing on Ho-Sang. I've seen him put goals on a plate for team mates in a number of games. Offensively he is a complete dynamo, I can't wait to watch him develop.

I love both our 1st round picks.

There isn't a single draft eligible chl prospect this year that had more even strength assists than Josh Ho Sang.... Not one. (Goldobin was tied). Windsor wasn't a bad team, especially before Rychel moved his kid to Guelph to try and get him a memorial cup. But ho sang handles it well, despite having a ton of chemistry with Rychel. Kid can dish, and he does quite often.

 

[Jester9881]

There isn't a single draft eligible chl prospect this year that had more even strength assists than Josh Ho Sang.... Not one. (Goldobin was tied). Windsor wasn't a bad team, especially before Rychel moved his kid to Guelph to try and get him a memorial cup. But ho sang handles it well, despite having a ton of chemistry with Rychel. Kid can dish, and he does quite often.

Not to mention that when you watch his highlight videos, there's a ton of instances where he will dish nice pass to a team mate who will completely flub a scoring chance. I suspect as he moves up and plays with better support around him, he will be more and more comfortable using his line mates.

 

[CodeE]

People are making very good points about the "character" players we already have in the locker room. Lot of players who'll keep Ho-Sang in line, but still allow him to be a potential 1st line agitator who can draw a penalty late in a close game and then score on the ensuing powerplay.

Ho-Sang will have opportunities to play with talented young centers once he hits the NHL in a couple years. I believe noted poet Kid Rock once sang, "They say I'm cocky, and I say "What?" It ain't bragging motherf***** if you back it up". Listen to your coaches, support your teammates, and bring your skill to the ice and you'll make a lot of money playing professional hockey.

 

[habfaninvictoria]

The only real problem that I've heard of with this guy is that he's outspoken ... Kind of like PK ... I'd have been happy taking him. The "system" really punishes kids with personality. I think he's the steal of the draft

 

[scott99]

My instant reaction to the trade was, if we are trading BOTH number 2 picks, we better be taking Thatcher Demko or one of the top goalies. Then I hear JHS, and my first thoughts were, dumb trade. But the more investigating I did, almost EVERY draft guide loved this kid's talent, almost all of them had him going in the 1st round, and his rankings were anywhere from 18-33. Now I love the pick. I remember being impressed with Ho-Sang at the prospects game, but also hearing near the Combine that several people took him off their list after interviews. I think TSN made a good point, I think captain Tavares will keep him focused. Read an article about his ethnicity (he's practical the United Nations lol), and some of the stuff people said about his talent is mindblowing. Warren Reychel and Doug Gilmour raved about his talent level, here's the article.

http://colorofhockey.com/2013/10/25/josh-ho-sang-a-diverse-star-in-the-making/

 

[seafoam]

I'm still awaiting Dan-o's thoughts on this pick.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

My instant reaction to the trade was, if we are trading BOTH number 2 picks, we better be taking Thatcher Demko or one of the top goalies. Then I hear JHS, and my first thoughts were, dumb trade. But the more investigating I did, almost EVERY draft guide loved this kid's talent, almost all of them had him going in the 1st round, and his rankings were anywhere from 18-33. Now I love the pick. I remember being impressed with Ho-Sang at the prospects game, but also hearing near the Combine that several people took him off their list after interviews. I think TSN made a good point, I think captain Tavares will keep him focused. Read an article about his ethnicity (he's practical the United Nations lol), and some of the stuff people said about his talent is mindblowing. Warren Reychel and Doug Gilmour raved about his talent level, here's the article.

http://colorofhockey.com/2013/10/25/josh-ho-sang-a-diverse-star-in-the-making/

Forget about his ethnicity. I hate that it gets any ink at all because it really shouldn't matter. What I found interesting was the two sided debate in the prospect watch threads here and on the main board. There are three evenly divided camps between hate, love, and IDK. I err on this scouting dept's opinion on the pick because they've gotten enough home run swings right. You spend 1000 more hrs in the prospect areas Scott, am I wrong about the hate/love camps? I like the pick.

 

[scott99]

Forget about his ethnicity. I hate that it gets any ink at all because it really shouldn't matter. What I found interesting was the two sided debate in the prospect watch threads here and on the main board. There are three evenly divided camps between hate, love, and IDK. I err on this scouting dept's opinion on the pick because they've gotten enough home run swings right. You spend 1000 more hrs in the prospect areas Scott, am I wrong about the hate/love camps? I like the pick.

APS I do spend a decent amount of time in the prospects area, but I haven't really done that since our draft. Been spending time here getting our own fans insight and opinions on our picks. That being said, I have read a little of the JHS thread on the prospects area, and it interesting how little the haters know about the guy, and they basically feel it was a typical screw up by the Islanders. Some have compared him to the Kabanov pick, and I got a chuckle about that one, cause realistically, the only worries about JHS are size (which he can get bigger weight wise) and supposed attitude issues, which, IMO are really more about him being outspoken, and I don't want anyone to curb that unless it gets silly. To compare him to Kabanov, who took 2 1/2 seasons to reach the 85 points JHS had in 1 season, is ludicrous.

 

[scott99]

Forget about his ethnicity. I hate that it gets any ink at all because it really shouldn't matter. What I found interesting was the two sided debate in the prospect watch threads here and on the main board. There are three evenly divided camps between hate, love, and IDK. I err on this scouting dept's opinion on the pick because they've gotten enough home run swings right. You spend 1000 more hrs in the prospect areas Scott, am I wrong about the hate/love camps? I like the pick.

I was interested in his ethnicity because I work with a guy who's Jamaican, so I wanted to tell him about Ho-Sang. BUT it's what I read about his talent in that article that caught my attention, read what Rychel and Gilmour said about Ho-Sang.

 

[Rengi]

I was interested in his ethnicity because I work with a guy who's Jamaican, so I wanted to tell him about Ho-Sang. BUT it's what I read about his talent in that article that caught my attention, read what Rychel and Gilmour said about Ho-Sang.

Scott, you are absolutely right about that, the article gives an insight on Ho-Sang. I really like his upside and i think JHS will turn some heads hopefully in the NHL when ready.
He states it himself, when he has learned the rest and is a finnished product in 2-3 years.

 

[InformTheMasses]

Forget about his ethnicity. I hate that it gets any ink at all because it really shouldn't matter. What I found interesting was the two sided debate in the prospect watch threads here and on the main board. There are three evenly divided camps between hate, love, and IDK. I err on this scouting dept's opinion on the pick because they've gotten enough home run swings right. You spend 1000 more hrs in the prospect areas Scott, am I wrong about the hate/love camps? I like the pick.

I suppose there are love/hate camps for most if not all players and prospects to varrying degrees. It wouldn't surprise me if in JHS case that it was especially divisive due to a multitude of reasons.... least of which is his actual game.

There are many people who favor the humble hockey player. Some people take that and expand that by taking the opportunity to punish and in some cases "hate on" the colorful (no pun intended) personalities. They have decided that these types of characters are trouble and have less respect for the game and do not take their craft or their team seriously or with the necessary level of respect. Furthermore the big personality of these players could potentially divide locker rooms and/or be coach killers. These are some of the real reasons why major hockey programs have taken an active role in trying to humble kids from an early age and strip them of their personalities... for the good of the kids, AND the game of course. So ALL players with big personalities are generally painted with the same broad brush. The harmful big personalities and the less harmful big personalities. Failure to conform to the norm and get back inside the box will only make the haters hate even more

Then there are the racists both the obvious racists and folks who don't think they are racists, swear they aren't but their usual takes on people and world views very obviously indicate otherwise. I won't waste time talking about these folks as they are not worthy of much discussion, but there are plenty out there and they would love nothing more than to see josh, pk and others fail so they can pound their chests and say "see I told you"

There are tons more who don't like wild and theatrical goal celebrations and "hey look at me" type players. (I generally fall into this category, but have a lot of exceptions). They see a young kid talking about how great he is, score a goal, then go wild in celebration and immediately get turned off.

There are a ton of hockey fans that fit any one of these three categories (or any combination or all three). All of those folks will "hate" on ho sang now and forever regardless of his game....

That's the first time I mentioned his game in this post..... The only possible way you actually watch Josh Ho Sang play and 'hate' his game is if you are watching him try to do too much.... the coast to coasts, the trying to create when something isn't there for 99%of hockey players (but might be there for him given his skill level). Look, he does make some silly plays, and he does try to force things sometimes. Every other hockey.player does too from time to time. He's still young and will have plenty of time to learn his own abilities and learn what he can and can't do at each level. But the skills and determination and hustle and strength (mental and physical) are all there in spades. You simply can't watch this kid and hate his skills and his game and be taken seriously.

 

[PWJunior]

I suppose there are love/hate camps for most if not all players and prospects to varrying degrees. It wouldn't surprise me if in JHS case that it was especially divisive due to a multitude of reasons.... least of which is his actual game.

There are many people who favor the humble hockey player. Some people take that and expand that by taking the opportunity to punish and in some cases "hate on" the colorful (no pun intended) personalities. They have decided that these types of characters are trouble and have less respect for the game and do not take their craft or their team seriously or with the necessary level of respect. Furthermore the big personality of these players could potentially divide locker rooms and/or be coach killers. These are some of the real reasons why major hockey programs have taken an active role in trying to humble kids from an early age and strip them of their personalities... for the good of the kids, AND the game of course. So ALL players with big personalities are generally painted with the same broad brush. The harmful big personalities and the less harmful big personalities. Failure to conform to the norm and get back inside the box will only make the haters hate even more

Then there are the racists both the obvious racists and folks who don't think they are racists, swear they aren't but their usual takes on people and world views very obviously indicate otherwise. I won't waste time talking about these folks as they are not worthy of much discussion, but there are plenty out there and they would love nothing more than to see josh, pk and others fail so they can pound their chests and say "see I told you"

There are tons more who don't like wild and theatrical goal celebrations and "hey look at me" type players. (I generally fall into this category, but have a lot of exceptions). They see a young kid talking about how great he is, score a goal, then go wild in celebration and immediately get turned off.

There are a ton of hockey fans that fit any one of these three categories (or any combination or all three). All of those folks will "hate" on ho sang now and forever regardless of his game....

That's the first time I mentioned his game in this post..... The only possible way you actually watch Josh Ho Sang play and 'hate' his game is if you are watching him try to do too much.... the coast to coasts, the trying to create when something isn't there for 99%of hockey players (but might be there for him given his skill level). Look, he does make some silly plays, and he does try to force things sometimes. Every other hockey.player does too from time to time. He's still young and will have plenty of time to learn his own abilities and learn what he can and can't do at each level. But the skills and determination and hustle and strength (mental and physical) are all there in spades. You simply can't watch this kid and hate his skills and his game and be taken seriously.

Great post ITM.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

I was interested in his ethnicity because I work with a guy who's Jamaican, so I wanted to tell him about Ho-Sang. BUT it's what I read about his talent in that article that caught my attention, read what Rychel and Gilmour said about Ho-Sang.

Rychel's comments are eye opening.

Btw, I wasn't criticizing your post at all regarding his ethnicity. I just get bummed when it comes out. My family is multi-ethnic to a degree, and I hate the need to box people up for any reason, even the whole "credit to one's race" thing. Peel back the skin, some physiological things... all the same in the end really.

 

[scott99]

Rychel's comments are eye opening.

Btw, I wasn't criticizing your post at all regarding his ethnicity. I just get bummed when it comes out. My family is multi-ethnic to a degree, and I hate the need to box people up for any reason, even the whole "credit to one's race" thing. Peel back the skin, some physiological things... all the same in the end really.

Yeah, I don't see color, if you're a good person, I like you, if you're an *******, I don't like you. Pretty simple. But I do find family trees interesting. I just found out my Mom's real mom was Italian, she doesn't know what her dad was. So finding stuff out about my heritage, I find very interesting. Same thing with people like me (ancestors all over the map, Italy, Ukraine, etc), or more straightline ancestory. Just find the stuff interesting.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

That's the first time I mentioned his game in this post..... The only possible way you actually watch Josh Ho Sang play and 'hate' his game is if you are watching him try to do too much.... the coast to coasts, the trying to create when something isn't there for 99%of hockey players (but might be there for him given his skill level). Look, he does make some silly plays, and he does try to force things sometimes. Every other hockey.player does too from time to time. He's still young and will have plenty of time to learn his own abilities and learn what he can and can't do at each level. But the skills and determination and hustle and strength (mental and physical) are all there in spades. You simply can't watch this kid and hate his skills and his game and be taken seriously.

That's the camp that absorbed me. I see people mention his size as an issue... you should know me by now, I err on the side of 6'5" 230 lbs lol. 5'11" isn't Ness-small. 180 lbs can be improved on via weights, like that is anything to pick on (BIG YAWN.) The highlights I saw was a guy who went headfirst into traffic and wanted the puck, wanted to be the man... That is the anti-Bailey if ever there was one. Ok, maybe uncoachable but I am going to hope for the best on that front. And just look at his on the shoulder attitude, "I want to prove to them how wrong they are." If that isn't a giant, "And Nino can take his attitude and shove it deep," I don't know what is. I LOVE this kid already.

Or he is uncoachable and perishes like Kabanov in which case I retract everything.

 

[JZCislesHockey]

Ho-Sang has the drive to succeed, is ridiculously skilled, and has a chip on his shoulder. He could be magic for years to come, and personally I really like him.


Also, just imagine him with Strome!

 

[SI90]

I think the fact that he's Multi-racial(if that's a real thing) is a positive.

I have said many times, my wife is from Puerto Rico and her maiden name is Tavares. My brother in law never even seen a hockey game ten years ago and now he's a die hard and proudly boasts his Tavares jersey and is not shy about letting everyone know his name is Tavares.
My father in law starting watching and he likes the rags probably to piss me off.

I took my wife's uncle to his first hockey game. He was a career marine and couldn't believe Okposo was one of out best players. He came home and told everyone " they got a Tavares and they got a guy named okaloposalo(that's his he said it) who's Hispanic too" I corrected him and told him okie was of African decent and he was still excited because Okie looked like he could be one if his cousins.

There's something that attracts people to people they can identify with.

My families from Sicily but I have never been there. I was always a hockey and football player. My first expierence with soccer was 2 years ago when my daughter started playing. But every World Cup I root for Italy and of course the US.

New York is the place to be if your"different". Esspecially in the city where we have all for the most part expierence different types of people everyday.

Long Island New York/ Brooklyn is a great place for Ho-sang.

There will be many people that will be drawn to him for various reasons.
I'm drawn to him because his electrifying play and personality.
I think it's a win for the isles and fans.

 

[boredmale]

There's something that attracts people to people they can identify with.

Black, Jewish and Asian. I think he has it all covered. lol

 

[PWJunior]

Ho-Sang has the drive to succeed, is ridiculously skilled, and has a chip on his shoulder. He could be magic for years to come, and personally I really like him.


Also, just imagine him with Strome!

We have a lot of high end forwards now with the addition of MDC alone, Ho-Sang is the wildcard and has exciting potential. If he pans out, our top-6 talent will be pretty scary and a very strong group. I would say it would extend to the top-9 if both pan out.

I think Ho-Sang's speed and skill will translate well to the NHL in terms of his neutral zone play and zone entries. People said speed kills in reference to Nylander/Ehlers, JHS brings a similar element to the team. He should be able to push the pace and defensemen will always need to respect his speed to beat them wide or even cut to the middle as the kid seems to have the balls to do that on occasion. This kid is AMac's worst nightmare with the cushion he gives. The kid is another fighter pilot, he wants to make a difference and can take matters into his own hands. Conservatively, I'm thinking of an Ales Hemsky (his younger days in Edmonton) as a comparable.

 

[original islander]

Bleacher Report in their email grading the draft gave us an Aplus and really praised our first two picks.

 

[SI90]

Black, Jewish and Asian. I think he has it all covered. lol

If that's not New York I don't know what is.

 

[boredmale]

If that's not New York I don't know what is.

I actually forgot his mother has ties to Chile(latin), Russia and Sweden. lol

I think those 3 cover everything