Caleb Jones
Birthday: 1996-10-08 | Position: D |
Eligible for draft: 2015 | Shoots: Left |
Drafted: 2015 | Height: 6-0 |
Acquired: 4th round (117th overall), 2015 | Weight: 194 lbs. |
Probability of Success
- C
History
2011-12: Caleb Jones played for the Dallas Stars youth program in Texas, skating in 10 games for the U16 team as a 14-year-old, and was selected by the Portland Winterhawks in the third round (64th overall) in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft.
2012-13: Jones skated for the Dallas Stars Tier 1 U16 team. In 40 games he scored 2 goals with 17 assists and 36 penalty minutes. He was invited to join the USA National Team Development Program for the 2013-14 season.
2013-14: Jones played for the NTDP’s U17 team in his first season in Ann Arbor and skated for the gold medal-winning USA team at the 2014 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 1 goal with 14 assists and 88 penalty minutes in 52 games for the NTDP team. Jones had 3 assists and 4 penalty minutes in six games for the USA at the WHC.
2014-15: Caleb Jones skated for the USA NTDP’s U18 team in his second season in Ann Arbor and skated for the USA U18 team that won a gold medal at the 2015 World Junior Championship. In 65 games for the NTDP U18 squad he scored 6 goals with 19 assists and had 50 penalty minutes. Jones had 5 assists and was +6 with no penalties in seven games at the WJC. The USA won a gold medal, defeating Finland, 2-1, in the championship game. Jones played for Team Grier in the 2014 All-American Prospects Game and was ranked 115th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings. He signed a contract to play for Portland in the WHL in 2015-16 in April and was selected by Edmonton in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Talent Analysis
Jones is a strong skater who moves the puck well. The younger brother of Columbus defenseman Seth Jones, he lacks the height of the former first-round pick but is solidly built and has added mass and strength during his two years with the USA NTDP program. Jones is still developing his positional game but has great fundamental skills and a solid work ethic. He plays a more physical game than his brother and is more of a defense-first defenseman.
Future
Jones is skating for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks in 2015-16. Teamed at times with Nashville prospect Jack Dougherty on the top defense pairing, he has shown some offensive flashes in his first season with the Winterhawks to go along with his physical game. Not as highly-regarded as his older brother, Jones projects as a solid middle pairing two-way defenseman.