Preds’ rookie defies comparisons
Defenceman Seth Jones already showing he is his own man
NASHVILLE, Tenn . — It’s harmless. Intriguing. A nd somet i mes even illuminating.
Simply single out a youngster in the National Hockey League — then try to predict his evolution. As in, who will he become?
Sean Monahan, for instance, has already been likened to Jonathan Toews, Brent Sutter, Ron Francis, Brad Richards, Anze Kopitar.
But Barry Trotz, asked about Seth Jones, declined to play along. The Nashville Predators coach has no interest in comparing his prized blue-liner to anyone else.
“Seth Jones is going to be Seth Jones,” Trotz, ever pleasant, said Tuesday morning. “When all is said and done, he’s probably going to put on another 30 pounds. So he’s going to be a six-five, 235, really strong-skating defenceman who could be a difference-maker every night.
“That would be my comparable to whoever you can come up with.”
Shea Weber didn’t bite on the name game either.
“I’m not sure,” the Preds captain said with a shrug. “But he’s something special. Mobility, that’s his biggest asset. And for a 19-yearold, the poise he has with the puck. You don’t see a lot of guys, especially defencemen, have the patience and control to make those plays in tight areas — and do it with confidence.”
But Jones, like any teenager tiptoeing into the NHL, has had his moments.
According to the kid himself, the first 20 games had been solid. Then? A somewhat troublesome stretch.
“You’re so excited that you forget how long the season is, you forget how consistent you have to play — I think it happens to a lot of guys,” said Jones, who has picked up 17 points — and a minus-13 rating — in his first 47 appearances. “I don’t know what you want to call it ... but I just didn’t play as well in the next 10 or 15 (games). But I think it’s been pretty good (lately). I’m trying to stay consistent, but it’s obviously an extremely high level and a high pace.”
Said Trotz: “Some nights he’s 29 years old and there’s the odd time he’s 19. As any young player who starts to figure it out, those dips won’t be as deep.”
In other words, he’s adjusting. Steadily.
“It is a physical game,” Jones said. “Guys are bigger and stronger at this level. When you go into the corner ... there’s never an off-night or a one-on-one battle that you don’t have to give 100 per cent.”
Helping matters away from the rink? Jones’ mother, Amy, moved to Nashville to be with her son. (Monahan and his mom, Cathy, also live together, in Calgary).
But the NHL grind itself, he adores.
“You know what? Just the culture of the game,” said Jones. “The locker-room. The atmosphere. You’re always on the go. Last year (with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League), I played a lot of games. This year, you’re always flying. It’s nice to be around the team. So I think maybe the lockerroom is the best part.”
The fourth pick in last summer’s stacked draft, Jones is proud of the 2013 class, which includes the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Bar-kov, Elias Lindholm, Valeri Nichushkin and Monahan.
‘Seth Jones is going to be Seth Jones ... a really strong-skating defenceman who could be a difference-maker every night.’
Bary trot z, predator s coac h
“It’s tough (not to notice) they’re all doing so well,” said Jones. “They’re always doing something spectacular. I knew they were going to be great players. I knew they were going to have great careers.”