Fish Sticks; Welcome to the Josh Ho-Sang experience

Well folks, earlier Sunday it was announced that Christopher Gibson was sent down to Bridgeport and the ever controversial Joshua Ho-Sang was brought up.  While Lou Lamoriello wouldn’t give anything away in terms of Ho-Sang’s use, he did say that Josh “deserved the opportunity to be up here”.

Ho-Sang currently has been ripping up the AHL, with 23 points, three goals and 20 assists.  He was brought up because he’s been working on his complete game, is at least competent defensively, and brings an edge and element to the Islanders’ stagnant offense that they need right now.

With injuries to Tom Kuhnhackl and potentially Anders Lee, Ho-Sang will most likely be on a line with Val Filppula and Leo Komarov.  As long as Ho-Sang doesn’t get buried like he has in previous stints, he’ll be on the second PP unit and will use his creativity on the ice to set up teammates.

Why is this a big deal?  Well it’s really for two reasons.  The first is obviously the fact that Ho-Sang has been the prized possession for the Islanders over the past few seasons, but has fallen out of favor multiple times due to his poor play and attitude.  He is always the center of attention even when he doesn’t want to be, and sometimes he doesn’t keep his mouth shut when he really should.

The second and more important point is that the Islanders need his creativity to get the juices flowing again on offense.  Ho-Sang is immensely talented and like Mat Barzal can be a dynamic playmaker so long as he doesn’t get in his own way.  If Josh can keep his head on straight and keep his focus on the game of hockey, he will be a very important asset for the Islanders this season.  If not, then this will most likely be his last shot at redemption.