Toronto native Josh Ho-Sang appears to be set to resume his hockey career overseas.
Early Saturday, HC Salavat had posted a cryptic Instagram post with Ho-Sang’s initials and a Maple Leafs with arrows pointing to a logo of the club.
Shortly after the post, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that Ho-Sang was signing a one-year deal with the club.
The Toronto Maple Leafs brought Ho-Sang into the fold last season when he began to train at the team’s practice facility in Etobicoke last summer. He was then signed to a professional tryout and later signed a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies.
On a mission to the change the narrative and perception of him as a player, Ho-Sang impressed with his play with Marlies. He ended up earning a spot on the 2022 Canadian Olympic Men’s Hockey Team, an opportunity that opened up after the NHL had to pull out from its involvement due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Ho-Sang had three assists in five games with the Olympic team, but the national side failed to advance past the quarterfinals stage, losing to Sweden.
Ho-Sang had 16 goals and 35 points in 47 games with the Marlies. His start to the season was a lot quicker than his finish. Hoping to have his AHL contract converted to an NHL one, the Maple Leafs went in a different direction and used some of their available contract spots on some other players, including college prospect Nick Abruzzese.
Before Toronto, Ho-Sang spent time with two different clubs in Sweden. He was selected by the New York Islanders in the first round (28th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.
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