Former first-round pick Josh Ho-Sang's comeback is about more than hockey

ESTERO, Florida – Josh Ho-Sang has found peace.

After an NHL career that didn’t live up to the hype and the frustration from New York Islanders faithful, the 28-year-old former first-round pick is smiling and happy. He’s playing hockey again, and playing it rather well. On Saturday, he’s primed to win his first professional championship with the Florida Everblades, a franchise one win away from an unprecedented ECHL three-peat.

Ho-Sang has 18 points in 21 ECHL playoff games, with his 17 assists topping all players in the postseason. In Game 4 on Friday, he helped set up a goal early in the third period as Florida defeated the Kansas City Mavericks 4-1.

Albeit against minor-league competition, Ho-Sang often looks like the player he was advertised as before the 2014 NHL Draft. He drifts and car