Love of the game drives talented Josh Ho-Sang

His father’s Jamaican, his mother’s Chilean, he speaks Spanish, has a dark complexion, and bears an Asian last name across the back of his jersey (thanks to a Chinese-born great grandfather who married a Jamaican woman). The Windsor Spitfires’ Josh Ho-Sang stands out in a predominantly white sport, but he said that he hopes his may be the face of the game’s future.

“I feel like because I’m of colour that I can say more,” he explained. “There’s a lot of poor coloured people and I think that’s why hockey is such a hard sport for them to get into. That’s why I think that as parity in wealth grows in the world, it will grow also in hockey.

“I mean, imagine if you had a LeBron James in hockey — I feel there are a lot of NBA players who could play any sport. If they played hockey all the way through, you’d have a 6’9 power forward.”

By no means is Ho-Sang the only non-Caucasian playing the sport, but Ho-Sang said as more different ethnicities start having the financial opportunity to play, they’re going to embrace the game and contribute to its betterment.

“There’s a lot of room for the game to grow,” he said. “Even when I’m done playing hockey, you’re going to see the size is going to change, the speed is going to change — it’s going to be a completely different game.”

His multi-ethnic background has brought about some admirers who look to him as a role model, a role he’s proud to embrace.

“I think it’s really cool because I’ve gained a lot of fans from different cultures,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of African-American and Chinese people come to me and say, ‘You’re doing us proud’ and that’s really inspiring.”

And Ho-Sang said he’s appreciative of the opportunities provided by his parents’ hard work and dedication. His father…

via Love of the game drives talented Ho-Sang – Hockey’s Future.