Every professional hockey player comes to a crossroads in their life where they question their future and whether or not to continue on with the grind or to hang up their skates and pursue other opportunities. Life after hockey, as they say. For some, life after hockey begins in their late-30's or early-40's. For others, the game passes them by far too soon, sometimes even in their 20's.
Josh Ho-Sang, 27, has faced a lot of challenges throughout his hockey career in pursuit of his dream of playing in the NHL. A lot of his issues over the years had reportedly had a lot to do with his attitude, especially during his time with the New York Islanders. His journey has taken him through Windsor, Niagara, Long Island, Bridgeport, San Antonio, Sweden, Toronto and Russia. Now, it appears as though the Toronto native is considering calling it a career and walking away from the game.
After bouncing around between the AHL and NHL for a few years, Ho-Sang took a run at playing in Sweden - something he admits was a very humbling experience for him. When he signed a PTO with the Leafs in the summer of 2021, he was unable to secure an NHL contract, but did opt to sign a 1-year "show me" deal with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Ho-Sang turned that opportunity into another unique opportunity, earning an invite to play for Team Canada at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
Unfortunately, an injury had derailed Ho-Sang's season when he returned from Beijing, and the season ended, so too did his run in Toronto. Ho-Sang signed a 1-year deal with Salavat Yulayev in the KHL summer, but made it into just 1 game with Ufa before an injury derailed his season and forced him to have surgery. He came back to play 4 playoff games with Ufa.
If this truly is the end of the road for Ho-Sang in pro hockey, perhaps an analyst role is in his future, as Ho-Sang is quite the character. Only time will tell what happens here. If he does not opt for retirement, perhaps we'll see him back in North America. Or maybe he goes back to Sweden for a year. Whatever comes next, we wish Josh nothing but the best.
