Prospect Zach Jones Player Profile

Player's Profile

Picture Courtesy of www.fightingsioux.com

Name: Zach Jones
Position: D
Shoots: Right
Height: 5-10
Weight: 187 lbs
Birthdate: 1987-01-14
Eligible for Draft: 2005
Drafted:
Hometown: Lisle, Illinois
Acquired: Eligible for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft
Playing In: NCAA

Zach Jones

Profile Contributed By: Jeff Dahlia

History

Zach Jones began playing with the U.S. NTDP during the 2003-04 season, where he appeared in a total of 64 games for the U-17 squad. He was called up to participate with the U-18 National team at the 2004 IIHF World U-18 Championships. He helped Team USA take home silver in Minsk, Russia. He went on to play with the NTDP U-18 squad for the 2004-05 season, where he also was the team’s assistant captain. In 52 games played, he scored a total of five points (two goals and three assists) and racked up 120 penalty minutes, which was second highest total amongst the defensemen.

Jones also appeared for the U.S. National U-18 team at the Compuware Four Nations Cup (Ann Arbor, Michigan), the Five Nations Tournament (Tjorn, Sweden) and the 2005 IIHF World U-18 Championship in Plzen, Czech Republic.

Talent Analysis

Zach Jones, in many respects, will remind people of his brother Matt. Both play an ultra-competitive, aggressive style and are very reliable defensively. Zach is a defensive defenseman that plays his game simply yet intelligently. One of the more remarkable qualities about Jones is how effectively he plays against bigger opposing forwards. His strength and scrappy nature allows him to not only shut them down but also wreak havoc on them. While Jones has shown that he does have some puck skills, it isn’t one of his strongest areas but it should improve with growth, time and development.

Jones is a typical, stay-at-home defenseman who is very competent in his own end and is a good positional player. He is a good skater with patience and skill. Jones is small for a defender, which might cause NHL clubs to shy away from selecting him, but he plays as if were a big man. Even though he will not be looked to for offensive punch, Jones has enough ability improve his offensive output.