New York Islanders: Doug Weight Disappointed With Josh Ho-Sang’s Comments

New York Islanders head coach Doug Weight responded to Josh Ho-Sang’s comments from yesterday. He wasn’t too happy.

Yesterday, the New York Islanders got a blast of reality from their outspoken prospect Josh Ho-Sang. He brought to light the Islanders treatment of him, and how it appeared to him that he received most of the blame for the Isles defensive struggles.

Ho-Sang was sent down in December and was never seen again this year. While the Islanders continued to struggle defensively and lacked a presence on the third line, Josh Ho-Sang was playing hockey in Bridgeport.

Coach Doug Weight saw the comments himself and responded to them before the Islanders game today against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Weight definitely wasn’t pleased with Ho-Sang’s take on being sent down. In fact, he said he was “disappointed” with the comments.

"“We have never singled him out in that fashion There’s plenty of other things that have occurred over the time that are different than a lot of other players…I like him, so that was disappointing, but I get it. There’s frustration and I’m glad hopefully he got it off his chest, but we have to move forward and we have to do that face to face. That’s the last I want to discuss it.” – Doug Weight"

Thanks to Christian Arnold for providing the quote. I understand where Weight is coming from but he shouldn’t be surprised. Ho-Sang is a person who always speaks his mind and never sugarcoats anything.

If he feels like he’s being wrongly treated he’s going to say something, which is exactly what happened. Instead of Weight getting defensive, he should look at his team’s play in their own zone and look at the lack of production from Tanner Fritz and ask himself if Ho-Sang’s comments were justified.

If he does, he’s going to realize that keeping Ho-Sang in the minors while everything else fell apart was a mistake. We often forget that we’re just a  year removed from Ho-Sang’s original call-up when he lit it up and everyone seemed to be on-board with him.

He played 21 games last year putting up 10 points (four goals, six assists) along the way. In 22 games this year he had 12 points (two goals, 10 assists). With nearly identical numbers why was the narrative so bad against him?

He clearly elevated Brock Nelson’s game when they played together. Sure, if Ho-Sang is playing the Islanders are still likely in a similar situation, on the outside looking in, but keeping him off the NHL roster only makes your team worse.