AHL coach lauds Ho-Sang's work ethic, but 'he's a baby, he's immature'

Josh Ho-Sang's AHL head coach didn't mince words about the New York Islanders prospect's maturity level, but acknowledged the effort has been there recently.

"He’s a baby,” Bridgeport Sound Tigers bench boss Brent Thompson told Greg Joyce of the New York Post, before praising the young forward's commitment.

“He’s a baby, he’s immature and he’s got a lot of growing to do. I’m excited. The upside of him is outstanding. He worked hard (Wednesday in practice), he’s been working really hard. We all make mistakes, we all have bad games. It’s how do we respond from those and what do we learn from them? Every piece of this season for Josh, with us, is a development piece. It’s just going to be a longer process with some people.”

Ho-Sang was a healthy scratch Wednesday for the first time this AHL season, not counting a game he missed in December that would've been his fifth in five days.

“I don’t think anybody can break my confidence, but it’s definitely put in a place where it’s not very good," he said after practice Wednesday. “There’s certain things I can do on the ice to remind myself of what I am and who I am. But it’s just tough when you have people getting on you and sometimes when everyone’s talking to you about the negative, you may look at yourself negatively.”

Ho-Sang showed some promise with the Islanders at the beginning of the season, collecting 12 points in 22 games, but has been sent down to the AHL multiple times since.

The winger, who turns 22 later this month, has 12 points in 15 contests with Bridgeport.