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]

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]

His father, Wayne, is a black Jamaican professional tennis player from Kingston, Jamaica , whose grandfather is Chinese from Hong Kong; he was also a member of the reggae band Fujahtive . 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]

Junior Edit

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 Edit

Ho-Sang was listed at #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.[23] 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."[24]

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."[25][26] And: "We get the players that we feel can help us win. [And] we don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks."[27] In October 2014, Ho-Sang and the Islanders agreed to terms on a US$3.4 million three-year, entry-level contract.[28]

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."[29][30]

Ho-Sang wore #66 in honor of Mario Lemieux

Ho-Sang started the 2016–17 season with the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. On February 28, 2017, Ho-Sang was called up by the Islanders on emergency conditions, but was returned to Bridgeport just a few hours later.[31] Ho-Sang was recalled the following day and made his NHL debut with the Islanders on March 2, 2017 against the Dallas Stars. On March 7, in his fourth NHL game, Ho-Sang scored his first NHL goal to help clinch a 4–1 victory. It was a power play goal in the 1st period against the Edmonton Oilers. The primary assist was from Thomas Hickey and secondary assist from Shane Prince.[32]

His first NHL assist came on March 11, 2017, in the second period of a game against the St Louis Blues when he set up Brock Nelson for the Islanders' first goal of the game. His first multi-point game was on March 13 against the Carolina Hurricanes. His first NHL faceoff was on March 18 against the Columbus Blue Jackets when Brock Nelson got thrown out of the face off circle and Ho-Sang stepped in. His first two assist game was October 11, 2017, against the Anaheim Ducks.[citation needed]

Ho-Sang started the 2017–18 NHL season with the Islanders but was sent down to Bridgeport Sound Tigers on October 25, 2017, after recording four assists in six games.[33] He was recalled on an emergency basis on November 11, 2017.[34] The emergency basis was terminated and changed to a regular recall on November 16, 2017.[35] It was short-lived, however, as he was sent back down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on December 16, 2017, after recording eight points in 15 games.

Ho-Sang was invited to the Islanders preseason training camp prior to the 2018–19 season but was reassigned to the Sound Tigers on September 24, 2018.[36] After 26 games with the Sound Tigers, Ho-Sang was recalled by the Islanders on December 9.[37] Ho-Sang was loaned back to the Sound Tigers on January 8, 2019, after playing in 10 games.[38]

Jersey number Edit

Ho-Sang chose to wear sweater #66 for the Islanders as an homage to Mario Lemieux, who in response to controversy generated by the choice said he had no problem with Ho-Sang wearing the number. Ho-Sang defended his choice, arguing that he did not merely homage Lemieux's on-ice prowess, but also his contributions to the community of Pittsburgh. "He fought and continues to fight for other people," Ho-Sang said. "He thinks outside himself. For me, that's a man worth looking up to. That's why I wear the number. That's the type of guy who's behind that number, and that's what's so inspiring for me...."[39] He is the second player, after Calgary Flames defenceman T. J. Brodie, to wear the number after Lemieux in a regular season game.[39][40] At the start of the 2018–19 NHL pre-season Ho-Sang changed his Islanders jersey number to #26.[41]