Josh Ho-Sang doesn't understand why he was demoted.
The 22-year-old, who has appeared in 43 games with the New York Islanders over the past two campaigns, is mystified as to why he has been left to mire in the minors.
"I love those guys, I want to make that clear," Ho-Sang told Arthur Staple of The Athletic. "I know they're working hard. But I got sent down for defense and what are they in goals against in the NHL? I only played (22) games up there this year. I don't think it's my fault. They really painted it like it was my fault at the beginning of the year and I didn't like that."
After beginning the season with the Islanders, Ho-Sang played just six games before he was assigned to the minors. He then returned in November, this time for a one-month stretch before his future was once against cast in doubt. Ho-Sang has not played an NHL game since Dec. 14.
As part of his assignment to the minors, Ho-Sang was instructed to further develop his game away from the puck.
"I do have things I need to work on down here, my game is far from perfect. It can constantly improve. But I do think a lot of the stuff was unwarranted, especially in terms of the rope that other people were given," he continued. "I understand I have a history and that might be a factor. I don't know. But it's frustrating to me.
"Look, if you're going to send me down because of defense, it'd be nice to see other people be held accountable. That's all."
As Ho-Sang alluded, it's not the first time he has caused a stir in the organization. In 2015, he was cut on the first day of training camp after arriving late. Ho-Sang was dismissed, but not before he was made to run the stairs of Nassau Coliseum for three hours before he was delivered the bad news.
"Enough with the bull----. It's time to grow up," Islanders general manager Garth Snow said at the time.
It may have been the first sign that Snow's patience with the talented but frustrating prospect was growing thin. After all, it was only a year earlier that Snow staunchly defended his selection of Ho-Sang, drafted with the 28th pick in 2014, when he said he "probably has the most talent of anyone in that entire draft" and that he'd have little trouble fitting into the Islanders organization because "they s--- on me too."
After keeping pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning for much of the season as the league's most offensively dynamic club, the Islanders went off the rails in the second half, as their wealth of offensive talents could no longer make up for the team's back-end deficiencies. Would a Ho-Sang recall have helped the team's fortunes?
Ho-Sang, for one, thinks so.
"I feel like I've played games of substance and I've done well. More importantly, the team's done well with me there," he said. "If you're going to tell me that I'm bad defensively, I do this, I do that, but you win more than you lose with me in the lineup."
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