{"id":131975,"date":"2022-09-06T09:46:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T13:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=131975"},"modified":"2022-09-06T09:46:28","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T13:46:28","slug":"nhl-player-development-of-first-round-picks-josh-ho-sang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/09\/06\/nhl-player-development-of-first-round-picks-josh-ho-sang\/","title":{"rendered":"Player Development Of First-Round Picks, Josh Ho-Sang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Player development seems to always result in more questions than answers. How likely is it for a top pick to pan out? What makes a player a \u201csteal\u201d? Last Word On Hockey has a new series on how to properly develop prospects from all different spots throughout the draft. This week\u2019s piece involves draft picks in the back half of the first round and how they were used early in their careers.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Player Development Of First-Round Picks<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the span of 2005 through 2015, there were 84 total selections made between 16th overall and 30th overall on forwards playing in North America. Looking at all 84 forwards, they were split into different categories. Those categories were \u201cForwards Deemed NHL-Ready and Brought In Immediately When Ready,\u201d \u201cForwards Near NHL-Ready and Brought In Immediately When Near-Ready,\u201d \u201cForwards Rushed Slightly,\u201d \u201cForwards Rushed,\u201d \u201cForwards Forced,\u201d \u201cA Little Patience,\u201d \u201cPatience,\u201d and \u201cToo Much Patience.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were 12 forwards who fell into the fourth category, \u201crushed,\u201d on the list. Of those 12 players, seven made their NHL impacts in their DY+3 season. Those players are Michael McCarron<\/a>, Brock Boeser<\/a>, Colin White<\/a>, Tyler Ennis<\/a>, Chris Stewart<\/a>, Quinton Howden<\/a>, and Joshua Ho-Sang<\/a>. In this piece, we look at Josh Ho-Sang.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this piece, we will be using stats from Elite Prospects (raw stats) and Hockey Reference (ice time). Additionally, the analytics we are using are as follows: even-strength offence goals above replacement (EVO), even-strength defence goals above replacement (EVD), wins above replacement (WAR) and goals above replacement (GAR). Those analytics are from Evolving Hockey (subscription required).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Player Development Of Josh Ho-Sang<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ho-Sang, drafted 28th overall in the 2014 NHL draft by the New York Islanders, came out of the OHL\u2019s Windsor Spitfires organization. In his DY-1 season, Ho-Sang scored 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 63 games played, for 0.698 points per game. That ranked 46th out of the aforementioned 84 forwards in DY-1 production. Then, he scored 32 goals and 53 assists for 85 points in 67 games the following year, for 1.269 points per game. That ranked 31st amongst those same 84 forwards in DY production. After being drafted, Ho-Sang would see two more seasons at the OHL level before getting his chance at professional hockey.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his DY+1 season, Ho-Sang would be traded after the first 11 games by the Spitfires to the Niagara IceDogs. In total, he scored 17 goals and 64 assists for 81 points in 60 games, for 1.35 points per game. That ranked 18th out of 82 forwards still outside the NHL in DY+1 production. The following year, with the IceDogs, Ho-Sang scored 19 goals and 63 assists for 82 points in 66 games, for 1.242 points per game. That ranked 18th among the 70 forwards still outside the NHL in DY+2 production. After that last season in the OHL, Ho-Sang would make the jump to the professional ranks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Josh Ho-Sang Was Used<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ho-Sang would split between the NHL and AHL in his first taste of men\u2019s hockey. In the AHL, he would play 50 games and score 10 goals and 26 assists for 36 points in 50 games. That\u2019s solid production for a young kid in his first AHL season. With that, he also played 21 NHL games, and averaged 16:27 time on ice per game. In that middle-six role, Ho-Sang scored four goals and six assists for 10 points. Analytically, Ho-Sang was decent. His EVO (2.3) was about average for rookies, while his EVD (-1.2) also was about what you\u2019d expect from a rookie. With those fairly expected numbers, his WAR (0.4) and GAR (1.9) were moderate, but not great.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>