Seth Jones (ice hockey)

Seth Jones
Born (1994-10-03) October 3, 1994
Arlington, Texas
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nashville Predators
National team  United States
NHL Draft 4th overall, 2013
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2013present

Jared Seth Jones (born October 3, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jones was selected by the Predators in the 1st round, 4th overall, at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to Columbus on January 6, 2016.

Jones spent two years playing for the United States National Team Development Program before playing junior hockey. He was originally drafted by the Everett Silvertips, but chose not to play for them. Believing Jones would choose to play college hockey, Everett traded Jones' negotiation rights to Portland. After the Winterhawks signed Jones, they traded four players to the Silvertips to officially complete the trade.

Jones has represented the United States several times internationally. He won back-to-back gold medals at the 2011 and 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was a member of the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships team that won gold. Prior to that tournament, he boasted that the Americans had the best team despite Canada's heavily favored squad.

Born in Arlington, Texas, he is the son of former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Popeye Jones. He learned ice hockey while growing up in Denver, Colorado, before moving with his family to Frisco, Texas, where he played major bantam.[1] Seth has a younger brother, Caleb, who was drafted 117th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life

Jones was born in Arlington, Texas, to Amy and Ronald "Popeye" Jones, when his father was a member of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He is the middle of the couple's three children, all sons, with Justin being older and Caleb younger.[2] His father is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player who is currently an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers[3] Jones began playing hockey at the age of five when the family was living in Denver, Colorado, while his father was playing for the Nuggets. Justin wanted to play inline hockey with friends. Justin and Seth were given inline skates and in the winter received ice hockey skates.[2] Not knowing much about ice hockey, Popeye asked Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Sakic, then playing in Denver with the Colorado Avalanche, for advice to help his sons become better players after running into him at the Pepsi Center, where both of their respective teams played. Sakic told Popeye to have his sons work on their skating, knowing they would likely have size and natural athleticism.[2][4] As a result, Seth took skating classes for a year before he began playing organized hockey at age six.[2][5] He was in attendance at game 7 when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2001.[6]

Playing career

Amateur

Jones began playing organized ice hockey with local teams in Denver and playing with travel teams when he was eight years old.[3][4] He and his family moved back to Texas when Jones was 12. At the same time he decided he wanted to play for the United States National Team Development Program (NTDP).[7] He played for the Dallas Stars Bantam Major team, scoring 33 points in 31 games.[8] In the 2009 Bantam draft the Everett Silvertips selected Jones eleventh overall. He was projected to be a higher pick in the draft, but concerns that he would choose to play college hockey over the Western Hockey League (WHL) caused him to be selected lower.[9] After being drafted Jones played another season in Dallas, with the Stars U-18 team before joining the NTDP.[8][10]

In his first season with the NTDP Jones spent time with both the under 17 and under 18 teams. He served as co-captain of the U-17 team. Jones registered 21 in 37 game of the NTDP season, which included league play in the United States Hockey League (USHL), plus international play and games against division II and III National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams.[10] His 21 points led the team in defense scoring.[11] He continued to serve as co-captain the following season, but slipped to second on the team in defense scoring registering 31 points in 52 total games.[10] After his second season Jones needed to choose whether to play his draft year in the NCAA or with the Silvertips in the WHL.[12] Jones decided that Everett was not a good fit for him and was expected to attend the University of North Dakota.[13] After being informed that Jones would not play for them the Silvertips traded the rights to talk to Jones to the Portland Winterhawks for a conditional bantam draft pick, but retained his rights.[9][14] Two weeks later, Portland signed Jones and traded two signed players and the rights for two more players to officially complete the trade for acquiring his rights.[15] While playing for Portland, Jones was projected to be a top selection in the 2013 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft.[2][3][4][13] At the season's mid-way point the NHL Central Scouting ranked Jones as the number one prospect among North American Skaters and the International Scouting Services listed him first overall.[16][17]

Jones finished the season with 14 goals and 56 points in 61 games. In the playoffs Portland won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as champions of the WHL.[18] In the Memorial Cup tournament the Winterhawks advanced to the final, where they faced the Halifax Mooseheads.[19] In the final Jones scored a goal in a 6–4 loss, draft rivals Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin each recorded 5 points for Halifax.[20] Jones finished the playoffs with 5 goals and 15 points in 21 games. He was named to the First All-Star Team of the Western Conference and won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie of the year.[21][22]

Heading into the draft Jones was again named the number one overall prospect.[23] Despite the ranking, the Avalanche, who held the top pick, announced that they would not select Jones and would instead draft a forward.[24] At the draft Jones slid to the fourth overall pick where he was selected by the Nashville Predators.[25] A month later the Predators of the NHL signed Jones to a three-year entry-level contract.[26]

Professional

Jones made his National Hockey League debut with the Nashville Predators on October 3, 2013, against the St. Louis Blues.[27] Jones scored his first NHL goal on October 12, 2013 against Evgeni Nabokov of the New York Islanders.[28]

During the last year of entry-level contract in the 2015–16 season, on January 6, 2016, Jones was traded by the Predators to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for center Ryan Johansen.[29] At the time of the trade, he had scored 63 points in 199 NHL games.[30]

On June 29, 2016, as an impending restricted free agent, Jones agreed to a long-term extension, signing a 6-year $32.4 Million contract to remain with the Blue Jackets.[31]

International play


Jones playing for Team USA in the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing United States United States
World Championships
2015 Czech Republic
World Junior Championships
2013 Russia
IIHF World U18 Championship
2012 Czech Republic
2011 Germany
World Under-17 Hockey Challenge
2011 Manitoba

Jones first represented the United States at the 2010 Under-17 (U-17) Four Nations Cup. In the tournament Jones scored a goal and registered four points, helping Team USA to a first-place finish. He next represented USA in the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[32] Team USA finished the preliminary round undefeated winning all four of their games. In their semi-final game Team USA defeated Canada's Pacific team 6–5 in overtime to advance to the gold medal game.[33] In the Championship game Team USA was defeated 5–3, finishing the tournament as the silver medal winners. In the loss Jones was named the player of the game for the United States.[34] Jones finished the tournament scoring a goal and two points.[32] He was named to the tournament all-star team.[35] Later in the year Jones joined Team USA for the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships.[32] The United States went undefeated in the preliminary round and the semi-final advancing the gold medal game.[36][37] In the championship game Team USA faced a two-goal deficit in the third period. The Americans came back eventually tying the game with 1:29 remaining to force overtime. USA scored four minutes into overtime to win the gold medal.[38] Jones finished the tournament with three assists in six games.[39]

As a 17-year-old Jones was selected to play on the United States 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships team, but was unable to play due to an injury.[2] He returned to international competition at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he captained Team USA.[5] The American team was again undefeated in the tournament allowing only four total goals in their six games of the completion.[40][41] It was the United States fourth straight gold medal at the Under 18 tournament.[42] Jones finished with 3 goals and 8 points in the 6 games, he was twice named player of the game for Team USA, and was selected by the coaches as one of the team's top three players.[43][44][45]

For the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Jones was named one of Team USA's alternate captains.[46] In a pre-tournament interview Jones stated that he felt the Americans were the best team, despite Canada being heavily favored.[47][48] Team USA started the tournament with a win, but lost consecutive games to Russia and Canada.[49] With a 1–2 record Team USA needed a win against Slovakia to avoid being send to the relegation round. The Americans won the game 9–3 and advanced to the medal round.[50] In the playoff round USA defeated the Czech Republic and the Canadians to earn a spot in the gold medal game.[51] In the championship game Jones had a bouncing puck go through his legs which helped Sweden take a 1–0 lead in the second period. Team USA rallied to win the game 3–1.[52] Offensively Jones registered seven points in seven games and finished seventeenth in tournament scoring.[53][54] He finished third overall in plus-minus with a +8 rating.[55]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11U.S. National Development TeamUSHL574273132
2011–12U.S. National Development TeamUSHL528233118
2012–13Portland WinterhawksWHL611442563321510154
2013–14Nashville PredatorsNHL776192524
2014–15Nashville PredatorsNHL82819272060446
2015–16Nashville PredatorsNHL401101110
2015–16Columbus Blue JacketsNHL412182012
NHL totals 240 17 66 83 66 6 0 4 4 6

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 United States U17 2nd, silver medalist(s) 5 1 1 2 2
2011 United States WJC18 1st, gold medalist(s) 6 0 3 3 0
2012 United States WJC18 1st, gold medalist(s) 6 3 5 8 0
2013 United States WJC 1st, gold medalist(s) 7 1 6 7 4
2014 United States WC 6th 8 2 9 11 6
2015 United States WC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 10 1 3 4 4
2016 Team North America WCH 5th 3 0 0 0 2
Junior totals 24 5 15 20 6
Senior totals 21 3 12 15 12

Awards and honors

Award Year
World U-17 Hockey Challenge All-Star Team 2011 [35]
IIHF World U18 Championships Team USA Best Player (one of three) 2012 [45]
WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team 2013 [21]
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy 2013 [22]

References

  1. "Seth Jones' NHL Draft Profile". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Klein, Jeff Z. (2012-12-20). "A Rising Hockey Star With N.B.A. DNA". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
  3. 1 2 3 Morosi, Jon Paul (2012-11-28). "Seth Jones an NHL icon in waiting". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  4. 1 2 3 Dater, Adrian (2012-12-10). "Seth Jones, possible NHL first overall pick, learned game in Denver". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  5. 1 2 Pap, Elliott (2012-11-07). "Elite prospect Seth Jones can thank Joe Sakic for starting him on right path". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  6. Grant, Michael (2013-06-19). "Basketball great's son could be top pick in NHL Draft". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  7. Peters, Chris. "Jones Creating A Texas-Sized Shadow With U.S. Program". USA Hockey Magazine. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  8. 1 2 Kwak, Sarah. "Where Will They Be? Seth Jones, 14 Defenseman (Dallas)". Sports Illustrated Kids. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  9. 1 2 Patterson, Nick (2012-04-24). "Jones won't play for Silvertips". The Herald. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  10. 1 2 3 "Seth Jones Player Profile". USA Hockey. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  11. "Seth Jones U.S. National Under-17 Team". USA Hockey. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  12. Sager, Neate. "Seth Jones U.S. National Under-17 TeaSeth Jones, top NHL draft prospect, on fence between Everett Silvertips, North Dakota". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  13. 1 2 Friesen, Kelly (2012-10-24). "NHL draft tracker: Seth Jones, Portland Winterhawks". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  14. Patterson, Nick (2012-04-23). "Seth Jones won't be coming to Everett". The Herald. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  15. Beseda, Jim (2012-05-08). "WHL finals: Winterhawks sign defenseman Seth Jones, completing 4-for-1 deal with Everett". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  16. Buker, Paul (2013-01-15). "NHL Central Scouting rankings: Portland's Seth Jones ranked No. 1". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  17. "ISS Top 30 Released for January". International Scouting Services. 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  18. "Portland Winterhawks clinch WHL championship with win over Edmonton Oil Kings". National Hockey League. 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  19. Kimelman, Adam (2013-05-25). "Portland reaches Memorial Cup final". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  20. Coffey, Wayne (2013-06-01). "Seth Jones, son of ex-NBA player Popeye Jones, could be first African-American taken No. 1 in the NHL draft". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  21. 1 2 "2013 WHL West All Stars & Award". Western Hockey League. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  22. 1 2 "Seth Jones Named Rookie of the Year". Portland Winterhawks. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  23. Morreale, Mike G. (2013-04-24). "Seth Jones tops Central Scouting final rankings". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  24. Dater, Adrian (2013-06-18). "Avalanche to pass on Seth Jones to take forward, Joe Sakic says". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  25. "2013 NHL Entry Draft". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  26. "Nashville Predators Sign 2013 Fourth Overall Selection Seth Jones". Nashville Predators. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  27. http://predators.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/boxscore?id=2013020010
  28. Jones scores first NHL goal as Predators top Islanders
  29. "Jackets, Predators swap Johansen, Jones". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  30. "Blue Jackets trade Ryan Johansen to Predators for Seth Jones". CBS Sports. 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  31. "Jackets lock in Jones with six-year extension". NBC Sports. 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  32. 1 2 3 Snow, Kevin (2012-09-07). "All-American Prospects Game Profile: Seth Jones". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  33. "Schedule/Results/Rosters - 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  34. "Monahan Scores Twice, Including Winner, As Ontario Claims U17 Gold". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  35. 1 2 Wiebe, Ken (2011-01-04). "Ontario crowned U17 Challenge champions". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  36. "2011 IIHF World U18 Championship Preliminary Round" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  37. "2011 IIHF World U18 Championship Playoff Round" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  38. "The Best Things in Life are Three". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  39. "2011 IIHF World U18 Championship Player Statistics by Team - USA" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  40. "2012 IIHF World U18 Championship Preliminary Round" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  41. "IIHF World U18 Championship Playoff Round" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  42. "Seven for seventh". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  43. "2012 IIHF World U18 Championship Player Statistics by Team - USA" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  44. "Best Player of the Game Selected By the Team" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  45. 1 2 "Best Players of Each Team Selected By Coaches" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  46. Heika, Mike (2012-12-23). "Plano's Seth Jones named alternate captain for USA's World Junior Championship team". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  47. Masters, Mark (2012-12-20). "Plano's Seth Jones named alternate captain for USA's World Junior Championship team". TSN. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  48. Boylen 2012, p. 18
  49. "IIHF World U20 Championship Playoff Round". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  50. Koshan, Terry (2012-12-31). "World Junior Championship: U.S. beats Slovakia 9–3". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  51. Spencer, Donna (2013-01-03). "World Junior Hockey Championship: Canada Falls 5-1 To U.S. In Semifinal". Huffington Post. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  52. Macgregor, Roy (2013-01-05). "Team USA wins world junior gold". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  53. "2013 IIHF World U20 Championship Player Statistics by Team - USA" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  54. "2013 IIHF World U20 Championship Scoring Leaders" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  55. "2013 IIHF World U20 Championship Plus-Minus Leaders" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Austin Watson
Nashville Predators first round draft pick
2013
Succeeded by
Kevin Fiala
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