Knights make their move
Ben Jones signs with Vegas, IceDogs sign top draft pick
The Vegas Golden Knights aren’t so focused on today that they’re forgetting about tomorrow.
General manager George McPhee, whose expansion team visits the Washington Capitals for a 5 p.m. puck drop Saturday with the Stanley Cup final tied at 1-1, on Friday announced the signing of Niagara IceDogs forward Ben Jones.
Jones, picked by the Golden Knights in seventh round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft with the 189th selection overall, agreed to a three-year, entry-level deal. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Vegas, the first expansion team to advance to the Stanley Cup final since the St. Louis Blues went on to be swept by the Montreal Canadiens in 1968, also agreed to terms with secondround pick Jake Leschyshyn, 62nd overall; and fellow forward Gage Quinney, a Las Vegas native who played in the American Hockey League last season.
Leschyshyn’s entry-level deal is for three years, Quinney’s for two. Again, terms were not disclosed by the Golden Knights.
Jones was an alternate captain in his third season in the Ontario Hockey League with the IceDogs. Appearing in all 68 regular-season games, he had 30 goals and 49 assists in league play before going on to net five goals and collect seven points in 10 playoff games.
Since being selected by Niagara in the first round of the 2015
OHL Priority Selection with the seventh overall pick, Jones’ production has improved in each of his three seasons with the IceDogs.
followed up a rookie campaign in which he scored five goals and added five assists in 61 games by scoring 13 goals and collecting 37 assists in 63 games as a sophomore.
Jones is the second NHL prospect eligible to return to the Niagara after signing an entrylevel contract. Forward Kirill Maksimov and the Edmonton Oilers agreed to terms after he was selected in the fifth round, 146th overall, in the 2017 draft.
’Dogs sign top pup
Playmaking defenceman Lleyton Moore, the Niagara IceDogs’ first-round selection in the 2018 Ontario Hockey League draft, has signed with the team.
“This is a game-changer for us in Niagara, Lleyton is a rare, special talent who is going to immediately turn heads around this league,” IceDogs general manager Joey Burke said. “He has a skill set that does not come along too often, and we are absolutely thrilled to be adding Lleyton to the IceDogs family.
“He is a proven winner who is the complete package, not only on the ice but off the ice as well.
“I couldn’t be more excited about our future, and for our great fans, as we are getting a player in Lleyton who will be extremely exciting to watch for years to come.”
The 5-foot-8 defenceman, the 12th overall pick in the draft, was dominant in minor midget as a member of the champion Toronto Marlboros team in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. He scored 16 goals and 50 points in 54 games, while shining defensively helping his team to the GTHL championship.
“I couldn’t be happier to be joining such a great organization in Niagara,” Moore said.
“I am very excited to be starting my next chapter with the IceDogs, and I can’t wait to get going in September.”
Moore just returned from competing at the OHL Gold Cup, where as a member of tournament champion Team GTHL Blue, he finished with one goal and five points in four games.