ORCHARD PARK – Five years ago, NHL Draft prospect Haoxi “Simon” Wang took a life-changing risk, leaving his family in China to pursue a hockey career in Toronto.
Wang, who turns 18 on July 27, spoke little English and had no guarantees when he left Beijing. He was hardly a phenom. He simply loved hockey.
His parents saw his devotion to the sport and allowed him to move 6,500 miles away to Canada.
“I think they saw my passion and they saw the drive and the belief that I had in myself,” Wang said June 7 at the NHL Scouting Combine. “And I basically paint the bigger picture to them and kind of sell them the dream of mine.”
Following fitness testing at the combine earlier this month in Buffalo, the 6-foot-6, 222-pound Wang couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction as he reflected on his unique journey.
Wang’s gutsy decision to leave home at 12 is about to pay off. NHL Central Scouting ranks him 34th among North American skaters for the draft, meaning he could be selected early today in the second or third round.
“I think this is a dream come true moment for me,” the defenseman said of attending the combine in LECOM Harborcenter. “If I told myself four years, five years ago I’ll be here, being in the NHL Combine, getting interviewed by all these great guys, I’ll probably tell myself I’m dreaming.”
Wang, who joined the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals last season, would become the third Chinese-born player drafted by an NHL team, joining defenseman Andong Song and forward Kevin He, two other Beijing natives.
The genesis of Wang’s unlikely career can be traced to a hockey practice he attended when he was 4. His friend had taken up the sport and invited him to watch.
When he walked into the chilly rink, he realized hockey wasn’t like the other sports he knew. He loved the look of the equipment and that players used sticks to move a puck.
He said when he saw the ice, “something just clicked inside” of him.
“I just fell in love with the game right away,” he said.
Naturally, Wang arrived in North America having played less than others his age. He was behind.
“I really didn’t start learning this game until I was 14,” he said.
He said his development reached another level when his advisor’s father began working with him.
“He put a ton of effort into putting my game into the whole piece,” Wang said. “After each game he gave me positive advice, negative advice on how I should work on it, and he was like a mentor to me. And at that point, my game really starts skyrocketing from there.”
Wang joined Oshawa after spending parts of three seasons in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Having committed to Boston University, playing in the OJHL allowed him to keep his college eligibility.
In November, the NCAA Division I council voted to make major junior players eligible next season, meaning Wang could play college hockey if he joined the Generals.
Shortly after that decision, he left the King Rebellion, his OJHL team, for Oshawa, where registered five assists in 53 total games.
“I think he’s more physical than he may get credit for,” Oshawa general manager Roger Hunt said. “I mean, everybody sees the long reach and everything else and the defensive play. But … when he takes the body, his intention is to take the body. He’s not just trying to take the puck away from you – he’s trying to hit you.”
That rugged style has started paying off. Wang believes other Chinese hockey players can learn from his journey.
“My (daring) move from coming to Toronto by myself and never take a no for an answer and just stick to the grind, believe in yourself, have confidence in who you are as a person and a player, and that’s what they can learn from me,” he said.
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The Rochester Americans, the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, on Thursday re-signed four players – defenseman Noah Laaouan and forwards Brendan Warren and Graham Slaggert – to two-year AHL contracts.
Meanwhile, forward Jagger Joshua inked a one-year AHL deal.