Prospect Info: Caleb Jones

[The Nuge]

Maybe his previous coaches weren't off their rocker when they compared his offence to his big bro's. Seems like once a game he eludes coverage and gets himself in the dangerous area/slot.

It makes sense though considering how much they train together. He’s got a pretty damn high end dman to learn from whenever he wants

It's too bad due to this organizations ineptitude we are unable to shelter and pair him with a solid veteran dman so his development could be maximized.

Come on. There’s no team in the league that can lose 3 of their top 5 dmen, and still be able to ice 5 equally quality veterans to shelter a young dman. Teams don’t carry 8 top 4 dmen.

 

[Stoneman89]

It makes sense though considering how much they train together. He’s got a pretty damn high end dman to learn from whenever he wants



Come on. There’s no team in the league that can lose 3 of their top 5 dmen, and still be able to ice 5 equally quality veterans to shelter a young dman. Teams don’t carry 8 top 4 dmen.

But they are able to bring up/insert adequate replacements to hold the fort and tread water until the cavalry gets back. Dallas lost all of 4 of it's top guys at one point, and they're in a playoff spot right now. This isn't someone like Tampa we're talking about either.

 

[walktheboulavard]

It makes sense though considering how much they train together. He’s got a pretty damn high end dman to learn from whenever he wants



Come on. There’s no team in the league that can lose 3 of their top 5 dmen, and still be able to ice 5 equally quality veterans to shelter a young dman. Teams don’t carry 8 top 4 dmen.

Sekera's hasn't been a top 4 dman for a year and half now. A competent organization would have shored up a stop gap replacement before the season had commenced.

It's one thing to ask him to play top 4 minutes, but at least throw the kid a life line. Petro isn't cut out to play that high up the line up.

 

[The Nuge]

Sekera's hasn't been a top 4 dman for a year and half now. A competent organization would have shored up a stop gap replacement before the season had commenced.

It's one thing to ask him to play top 4 minutes, but at least throw the kid a life line. Petro isn't cut out to play that high up the line up.

Even with Sekera out, we still had 4 top 4 dmen. We’re supposed to have 6 top 4 dmen on the payroll? We spent enough to get 5. No wonder our forwards are so pathetic.

But they are able to bring up/insert adequate replacements to hold the fort and tread water until the cavalry gets back. Dallas lost all of 4 of it's top guys at one point, and they're in a playoff spot right now. This isn't someone like Tampa we're talking about either.

It’s not like Dallas had better replacement dmen than us. They’ve been using Taylor Fedun and Connor Carrick. Jones is a big upgrade on either of them. The difference is they’ve got wingers that aren’t trash, and can help out the dmen. We’ve got a decent defense, but when they’re hurt, our team falls apart because there’s always at least one 4th liner out there for us.

 

[EXTRAS]

3rd game in a row he is going to get over 21 minutes of ice time.

 

[Pointteen]

Caleb Jones is an NHLer. He's gonna be pushed down due to contracts and that's crap.

We cquire Brandon f***ing Manning AND Petrovic when Russell is already back?

That's just incompetent management. Which we know.


But my point is, who do you try to ship out to make room for Jones in the NHL?
How good is our D gonna look when we have Jones AND Klefbom?

 

[joestevens29]

Even with Sekera out, we still had 4 top 4 dmen. We’re supposed to have 6 top 4 dmen on the payroll? We spent enough to get 5. No wonder our forwards are so pathetic.



It’s not like Dallas had better replacement dmen than us. They’ve been using Taylor Fedun and Connor Carrick. Jones is a big upgrade on either of them. The difference is they’ve got wingers that aren’t trash, and can help out the dmen. We’ve got a decent defense, but when they’re hurt, our team falls apart because there’s always at least one 4th liner out there for us.

4 top 4 d-men with 3 of them having massive proven histories of falling apart when playing too much resulting in them looking like bottom pairing d-men.

Thank god that hasn't happened yet to all three, but Nurse has shown signs of wear already. Maybe the injuries to Klef and Russell helped them re-energize and they don't fall apart, but who knows.

 

[missinthejets]

How do you realistically replace a 5 million dollar defenseman last minute? The only way you can do that is someone internally stepping up.

 

[Pointteen]

How do you realistically replace a 5 million dollar defenseman last minute? The only way you can do that is someone internally stepping up.

Jones is close to making me consider it. Ultimately this season is a scary time for trades.

I just hope we see a market open up for D vets between now and the draft. Even if we trade Sekera for next to nothing, it opens up a spot for Jones and cap space.

Caleb Jones gave our D a great problem of too many cooks in the kitchen.

Then we acquired two more.

 

[CornKicker]

klef-larsson
nurse - russel
Jones - Sekera (even at 75%)

is a great problem to have, the other 9 d men signed is Chia's replacements problem.

 

[oXo Cube]

Hitchcock has already gone out of his way to play Jones over guys like Benning, Petrovic, and Manning.

I don't really see why that would change unless Caleb creates a reason for it to do so.

 

[joestevens29]

How do you realistically replace a 5 million dollar defenseman last minute? The only way you can do that is someone internally stepping up.

Realistically a smart GM would realize that he should've had a better backup plan going into the year.

With Sekera there was no guarantee that this defense was going to be a playoff calibre defense. Losing one of Klef, Russell, Larsson, Sekera, or Nurse was going to be a blow to this club as it would mean more minutes for guys that have proven they can't play more minutes.

We went into the season with defenders that the coach couldn't even trust to play on the bottom pairing resulting in guys playing 10 or less minutes a night at times

 

[missinthejets]

Realistically a smart GM would realize that he should've had a better backup plan going into the year.

With Sekera there was no guarantee that this defense was going to be a playoff calibre defense. Losing one of Klef, Russell, Larsson, Sekera, or Nurse was going to be a blow to this club as it would mean more minutes for guys that have proven they can't play more minutes.

We went into the season with defenders that the coach couldn't even trust to play on the bottom pairing resulting in guys playing 10 or less minutes a night at times

Losing one is something this team could over come, losing 2 or 3 as we were recently (Sekera included) is too much.
You're not going to have a backup plan that is anywhere close to Sekera given the cap situation this team is in. It's just plain old bad luck on this defense. I mean least year they could have survived losing Sekera with Nurse's development, except that Klefbom decided to play like utter crap, this season they were doing alright with Klefbom and Russell healthy and playing well but lose them it all falls apart. Yeah this team has a lot of issues, but a lot of the depth issues are because of horrendous drafting and development years ago. We are just starting to see the fruits of some of the improved drafting now with Jones showing he might be a player, but that shit takes time.

 

[joestevens29]

Losing one is something this team could over come, losing 2 or 3 as we were recently (Sekera included) is too much.
You're not going to have a backup plan that is anywhere close to Sekera given the cap situation this team is in. It's just plain old bad luck on this defense. I mean least year they could have survived losing Sekera with Nurse's development, except that Klefbom decided to play like utter crap, this season they were doing alright with Klefbom and Russell healthy and playing well but lose them it all falls apart. Yeah this team has a lot of issues, but a lot of the depth issues are because of horrendous drafting and development years ago. We are just starting to see the fruits of some of the improved drafting now with Jones showing he might be a player, but that **** takes time.

I will say this at least on the defense they have veterans to play and get shelled instead of what is happening up front, where we are forcing too many of our key prospects to play.

 

[snipes]

Hitchcock has already gone out of his way to play Jones over guys like Benning, Petrovic, and Manning.

I don't really see why that would change unless Caleb creates a reason for it to do so.

Hitch loves Jones, it’s no secret.

He needs some refinement but all the skills and tools are there with this kid to eventually become a reliable top 4 D man in this league.

 

[CornKicker]

Hitch loves Jones, it’s no secret.

He needs some refinement but all the skills and tools are there with this kid to eventually become a reliable top 4 D man in this league.

i agree, the best case scenario is to play jones on the 3rd pair and let him find his game while still allowing him to bring that offensive game along at the same time. we have the depth when everyone is healthy. lets do the opposite of schultz and let jones play his way into the top 4.

 

[CycloneSweep]

i agree, the best case scenario is to play jones on the 3rd pair and let him find his game while still allowing him to bring that offensive game along at the same time. we have the depth when everyone is healthy. lets do the opposite of schultz and let jones play his way into the top 4.

Fair but the big difference is, Jones is playing at a top 4 level. He has been probably our second best defender since his 3rd game.

Honestly right now I think his game is better than Nurse. That could change. Yeah 3rd pairing might be ideal but at the same time if you are shoehorning Petrovic or somebody into the top 4 to do it, it doesn't help anyone.

The difference between him and Schultz is Schultz had to be our best defender from day one. If he is on the second pairing with a guy like Larsson or Russell I don't see an issue with it as long as he keeps his play up.

 

[JayE]

Caleb Jones is an NHLer. He's gonna be pushed down due to contracts and that's crap.

We cquire Brandon ****ing Manning AND Petrovic when Russell is already back?

That's just incompetent management. Which we know.


But my point is, who do you try to ship out to make room for Jones in the NHL?
How good is our D gonna look when we have Jones AND Klefbom?

I have no issue with acquiring Petrovic as he has some ability and is good insurance to have around, especially after seeing how much injuries have decimated the defense this year. Jones won't be pushed out if he keeps his level of play where it is. The Manning acquisition makes little sense even if I don't think losing Caggiula is much to be concerned about.

 

[Pointteen]

I have no issue with acquiring Petrovic as he has some ability and is good insurance to have around, especially after seeing how much injuries have decimated the defense this year. Jones won't be pushed out if he keeps his level of play where it is. The Manning acquisition makes little sense even if I don't think losing Caggiula is much to be concerned about.

I think Caggiula is a big deal because he was so high on our list of scorers.
Petrovic or Manning. Petrovic because of the contract.

 

[JayE]

I think Caggiula is a big deal because he was so high on our list of scorers.
Petrovic or Manning. Petrovic because of the contract.

He had a hot streak while playing with McDavid and Draisaitl, but was dreadful after coming back after injury. Even when he was contributing, he was probably the biggest defensive liability among the entire forwards corps. When he wasn't scoring he was a massive liability, and he had stopped scoring (it's also very clear Hitchcock didn't care for his play). Petrovic is clearly more talented than Manning and I think he'll be the choice going forward. It should be noted that Petrovic is a RHD while Manning is a LHD. If it comes down to bottom-pairing RHD, I think I'd take Petrovic over Benning, as well (or maybe Sekera will get up to speed faster than I expect and none of Petrovic, Manning, or Benning will play).

Klef-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Jones-Sekera
Petrovic

Not bad relative to what we've had. If history is any indication, though, it's far from a guarantee that Sekera will ever get back into form or that the defense will ever be completely healthy.

 

[walktheboulavard]

Kid's got nearly as many takeaways as Klefbom in 1/3 of the games. I've always though his ability to anticipate the plays was excellent, it's encouraging to see it translate to the pros.

Had a rough game last night, but honestly I like his aggressive style, he's like the complete opposite of Russel on the blue line lol. If the best thing to come out of this season is Jones emerging as a legit nhler and top 5-10 draft pick, I won't even be that mad.

 

[Blue Line Turnover]

Kid's got nearly as many takeaways as Klefbom in 1/3 of the games. I've always though his ability to anticipate the plays was excellent, it's encouraging to see it translate to the pros.

Had a rough game last night, but honestly I like his aggressive style, he's like the complete opposite of Russel on the blue line lol. If the best thing to come out of this season is Jones emerging as a legit nhler and top 5-10 draft pick, I won't even be that mad.

^^^
I'll be rightfully furious with no avenue for recourse other than to drown my sorrows in drunken debauchery

 

[walktheboulavard]

^^^
I'll be rightfully furious with no avenue for recourse other than to drown my sorrows in drunken debauchery

I know but what's the alternative? almost squeak into the playoffs at the cost of our futures? We should have faced this fact when McDavid was drafted; there is no quick fix for this team. There's too many holes and going all in at the cost of our first round pick (the only attractive asset we have remaining) is not the answer.

 

[joestevens29]

He had a hot streak while playing with McDavid and Draisaitl, but was dreadful after coming back after injury. Even when he was contributing, he was probably the biggest defensive liability among the entire forwards corps. When he wasn't scoring he was a massive liability, and he had stopped scoring (it's also very clear Hitchcock didn't care for his play). Petrovic is clearly more talented than Manning and I think he'll be the choice going forward. It should be noted that Petrovic is a RHD while Manning is a LHD. If it comes down to bottom-pairing RHD, I think I'd take Petrovic over Benning, as well (or maybe Sekera will get up to speed faster than I expect and none of Petrovic, Manning, or Benning will play).

Klef-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Jones-Sekera
Petrovic

Not bad relative to what we've had. If history is any indication, though, it's far from a guarantee that Sekera will ever get back into form or that the defense will ever be completely healthy.

The guy had a couple bad games during a team where a dozen players were having bad games.

Yes he had a hot streak with good players, but guess what we need that. Not everyone is a fit with McDavid and/or LD.

Not like Ty Rattie was lighting it up with McDavid.

 

[Louis Cypher]

Im worried Hitch has been told to play Jones a lot so we can showcase him to trade him for another bottom 6 forward.