The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to take chances on talented but underwhelming players, and Josh Ho-Sang is the newest example.
The former first-round draft pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft is immensely talented. He has lightning speed and showed an ability to find the back of the net, in junior. However, since being drafted, he’s only played in 53 career games and spent all of last year playing overseas.
After playing on four teams in two seasons, Alex Galchenyuk was once again traded, but this time, it was arguably his last chance. The Toronto Maple Leafs took a chance on the former third-overall draft pick, because they had an opening on their left-side.
Galchenyuk didn’t break any points records, but he recorded 12 points in 26 games and looked like his old self at times. He even scored more goals than Mitch Marner in the playoffs, recording one goal and four total points in six games played.
For a league-minimum contract, Galchenyuk did everything you wanted and was well worth the risk.
Could the same be said for Josh Ho-Sang?
Is Josh Ho-Sang This Year’s Alex Galchenyuk?
There’s no denying Ho-Sang’s skill, but this could be his last chance at an NHL roster. As discussed in Steve Simmons article in The Toronto Sun, Ho-Sang has always had a different mind, which has unfortunately hurt his opportunity on the ice:
"“You have to understand, he’s not a bad person,” a hockey man close to Ho-Sang said. “He just thinks differently than you and I do. And hockey’s not meant for those who think differently … If there’s a team that might get him, it might be the Leafs.”"
With this being a last-chance opportunity, I think Ho-Sang is going to deliver during training camp and make it a very hard decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m not necessarily sold that he’s going to make the opening night roster, but I don’t think they’ll want to keep him in the system and call him up sporadically throughout the season.
Since he hasn’t played an NHL game in quite sometime, he could benefit from playing with Nick Robertson on the Marlies. Robertson on the left-wing and Ho-Sang on the right-wing could be a dangerous combination in the American Hockey League.
Although it makes the most sense for him to probably start with the Marlies, if he could find some chemistry in the top-six on his off-wing beside Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, it could resurrect his career. Since he’s so fast and has so much skill, he could be someone who fits perfectly with other greatly skilled players like Marner and Matthews.
Regardless of what happens, bringing Ho-Sang in on a PTO is a great idea and it’ll be very interesting to see how he performs.