Between getting prepared to resume his pro hockey career, releasing a rap album, and being involved in the creation of a new app, Josh Ho-Sang is a very busy dude these days.
On Tuesday, the 28-year-old, who spent the 2021-22 campaign with the AHL’s Marlies after initially signing a PTO with the Maple Leafs in training camp, dropped an 18-track album called, ‘SAME.’ Furthermore, track No. 14 has quickly garnered attention in Leafs Nation. That’s because the local product, who confirmed Jeff Marek of Sportsnet’s report that he’s inked a deal to play for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades for the rest of the season, elected to title the tune, ‘Papi for MVP.’ One of Auston Matthews’ most prolific nicknames is ‘Papi.’
Hmm.
“I met him fresh off of his hand surgery. And that’s actually why I made the song —because I broke my hand, too, ” Ho-Sang told the boys. “He’s my MVP because I don’t think people understand how hard it is to come back from an injury. And then to come back better and like more efficient, I used that as an inspiration through my really long, hard rehab. And I called on that experience a lot when I was I feeling down.”
Furthermore, as mentioned, Ho-Sang recently announced his involvement in a new app called Pick-Up Pro Sports, or PUP for short. Essentially, it will act as a platform that allows you to find pick-up games, events, and practice.
“I just wanted to create a home for people to find activity. It started off as a small idea. Just through practices, we kept finding it hard to find goalies and then that idea kind of just blossomed into something bigger and I realized that there’s always people who are looking for activity all throughout the day.”
The winger was taken 28th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2014 NHL Draft. He suited up in 47 outings with the Toronto Marlies in 2021-22 notching 16 goals and 19 assists. In fact, his strong season earned him a spot on Canada’s Olympic squad. Additionally, due to injury, Ho-Sang was limited to just five games in the 2022-23 campaign while suiting up for the KHL’s Ufa Salavat Yulayev. Since then, he’s contemplated a new career path, one that’s clearly brought him success already. That said, it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to hang up the skates just yet.
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