LD Caleb Jones - Portland Winterhawks, WHL (2015, 117th, EDM)

[Woodhouse]

USNTDP LHD Caleb Jones, Seth's younger brother, will play with Portland in the WHL next season and is working to move out of his brother's shadow:

Jones had six goals and 24 points in 65 games with the United States National Team Development Program under-18 team this season. He really stood out for the U.S. at the 2015 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Switzerland this April with five points and a plus-6 rating in seven games to help the U.S. win the gold medal.


The 5-foot-11, 194-pound left-shot defender is No. 115 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top North American skaters for the 2015 NHL Draft.

"The first thing I liked was how much he improved as the year went on," David Gregory of Central Scouting said. "He added dimensions to his game that I didn't see as an underage player [in 2013-14]. He became much more confident carrying the puck and creating off the rush, which is something he'll need at the next level."

[nhl]827946[/nhl]

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[R S]

Like his game a lot. Has some skill, skates well and plays an aggressive style of game including playing more physical than you'd expect.

Will be a great fit on Portland's blueline the next couple of seasons.

 

[LV*]

Where is he projected to go? Seems like he isn't done growing yet at 6'0

 

[Mickey the mouse]

Probably 3rd or 4th round. he should be the 1st D taken from US team. Not much was left after Werenski and Hanafin left after u17 year.

 

[Woodhouse]

Another interview from the combine:

[NHL]830004[/NHL]

 

[dathockeydoe]

Probably 3rd or 4th round. he should be the 1st D taken from US team. Not much was left after Werenski and Hanafin left after u17 year.

I still really like Casey Fitzgerald a lot.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Bump worthy?

Bump worthy.

Seth's little brother is putting together a pretty solid rookie WHL campaign:

19 Games, 4-12-16, +5.

Highest scoring rookie D in the WHL, t-12th for overall defensive scoring right now - granted he is 18 already, but nonetheless impressive stuff from Caleb so far.

 

[AmericanDream]

absolute crickets on this kid as well....

like Jack Dougherty, has performed well above expectations this season for Portland. I have watched the past handful of games for Portland and this kid is going to be a NHLer at some point. He is still raw and prone to simple mistakes, but overall his positioning, skating, vision, and passing are all well above average. I love his attitude and work ethic out there.

I can honestly see the Oilers bringing this kid on board next year as he could surprise many in camp and earn that roster spot.

 

[Aceboogie]

absolute crickets on this kid as well....

like Jack Dougherty, has performed well above expectations this season for Portland. I have watched the past handful of games for Portland and this kid is going to be a NHLer at some point. He is still raw and prone to simple mistakes, but overall his positioning, skating, vision, and passing are all well above average. I love his attitude and work ethic out there.

I can honestly see the Oilers bringing this kid on board next year as he could surprise many in camp and earn that roster spot.

12th in WHL D scoring and 2nd in rookie scoring behind Dougherty. 42 pts in 54 games is pretty solid. He was really good to my eye at Oilers camp and seemingly has good pro tools. Not many limitations in his game.

I would say another year of WHL or 2 would do him good, but who knows with these kids.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

absolute crickets on this kid as well....

like Jack Dougherty, has performed well above expectations this season for Portland. I have watched the past handful of games for Portland and this kid is going to be a NHLer at some point. He is still raw and prone to simple mistakes, but overall his positioning, skating, vision, and passing are all well above average. I love his attitude and work ethic out there.

I can honestly see the Oilers bringing this kid on board next year as he could surprise many in camp and earn that roster spot.

With Bear, Jones, and Paigin, the Oilers actually had a really solid draft last year. Even John Marino's been looking good.

The Oilers have a billion LHD so I'd imagine he'll be back in Portland next year, but heck of a rookie campaign for him.

 

[AmericanDream]

With Bear, Jones, and Paigin, the Oilers actually had a really solid draft last year. Even John Marino's been looking good.

The Oilers have a billion LHD so I'd imagine he'll be back in Portland next year, but heck of a rookie campaign for him.

I definitely see a lot of young depth on the blue line for the Oilers...just with his pedigree, blood lines, and how he plays, I think he has a chance to sneak in there. time will tell, but like you said it has been a great year for the young man.

 

[McMozesmadness]

absolute crickets on this kid as well....

like Jack Dougherty, has performed well above expectations this season for Portland. I have watched the past handful of games for Portland and this kid is going to be a NHLer at some point. He is still raw and prone to simple mistakes, but overall his positioning, skating, vision, and passing are all well above average. I love his attitude and work ethic out there.

I can honestly see the Oilers bringing this kid on board next year as he could surprise many in camp and earn that roster spot.

We have a prospects thread on the Oilers board where we discuss him quite a bit. You should drop by and offer some greater insight for us.

I've personally seen him a few times the last year and love his raw tools, like you. I also found he has a bit of bite to his game which is nice to see. He's also very stocky and looks like he'll project to be around 6'2 220, if I had to guess (not a doctor, not a scout just my own guess/opinion).

Very happy with last years draft, beyond Connor.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

We have a prospects thread on the Oilers board where we discuss him quite a bit. You should drop by and offer some greater insight for us.

I've personally seen him a few times the last year and love his raw tools, like you. I also found he has a bit of bite to his game which is nice to see. He's also very stocky and looks like he'll project to be around 6'2 220, if I had to guess (not a doctor, not a scout just my own guess/opinion).

Very happy with last years draft, beyond Connor.

Agreed. Only guy that looks like a miss is Svoboda, and with goalies in most cases you could just line them up, put on a blindfold, huck a dart, and draft the bleeding guy, and your success rate would be about the same.

 

[howkie]

Lookin at his stats, seemed like he is having a hell of a year. Anyone watched him closer? I still can´t belive he dropped to the 4 round. I mean the bloodlines and the potential should be massive..

 

[tsujimoto74]

Lookin at his stats, seemed like he is having a hell of a year. Anyone watched him closer? I still can´t belive he dropped to the 4 round. I mean the bloodlines and the potential should be massive..

Agree. I'm not exactly a prospect guru, but the kid impressed me when I watched him in his draft year and looks even better now. Adding in the NHL bloodlines, and it just seems strange that no one was interested in him with a higher pick.

 

[Aceboogie]

Lookin at his stats, seemed like he is having a hell of a year. Anyone watched him closer? I still can´t belive he dropped to the 4 round. I mean the bloodlines and the potential should be massive..

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/cult-of-hockey-scouting-report-interview-with-edmonton-oilers-defence-prospect-caleb-jones

Scouting report and interview with him. He says hes been growing and could get up to 6'2 or 6'3. Wouldnt suprise me with his bloodlines

I think he was picked in 4th because he was smaller at 5'11 or 6'0 back then and because he had only 8 points in the USHL. His tools are pretty solid tho. Not sure how much higher hed go in a redraft, maybe late second early third?

FWIW Hawks are one of lower scoring teams in WHL. Total points for Hawks players is 574, for a team like Lethbridge its 823 and Wheatkings is 819. His 53 points makes up for 9.2% of total teams production which is pretty good. Sanhiem is killing it with 10% in less games played, but 9% is right up there for best in WHL for D.

S.Jones played on a powerhouse Winterhawks team that scored 903 total points for all players and he had 56 points

Progressing well

 

[howkie]

Tnx for the good read. This even please me more when I got him in our League draft. Think I even jumped up and took him early in the fourth just for the bloodlines. Seems like it is paying off. looks to be a big guy =)

 

[Passchendaele]

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/cult-of-hockey-scouting-report-interview-with-edmonton-oilers-defence-prospect-caleb-jones

Scouting report and interview with him. He says hes been growing and could get up to 6'2 or 6'3. Wouldnt suprise me with his bloodlines

I think he was picked in 4th because he was smaller at 5'11 or 6'0 back then and because he had only 8 points in the USHL. His tools are pretty solid tho. Not sure how much higher hed go in a redraft, maybe late second early third?

FWIW Hawks are one of lower scoring teams in WHL. Total points for Hawks players is 574, for a team like Lethbridge its 823 and Wheatkings is 819. His 53 points makes up for 9.2% of total teams production which is pretty good. Sanhiem is killing it with 10% in less games played, but 9% is right up there for best in WHL for D.

S.Jones played on a powerhouse Winterhawks team that scored 903 total points for all players and he had 56 points

Progressing well

Older brother Justin is only 5'11", so he may very well be done growing.

 

[Aceboogie]

Older brother Justin is only 5'11", so he may very well be done growing.

True, hes says hes 6'1 now and growing. But even if he stops at 6'1 thats more than ok

 

[Aceboogie]

Finished his rookie yera in the WHL. 3rd in all WHL D for even strength primary points, 4th for D in even strength points (behind Erkamps, Provorov, Nielsen, Menell) 7th in even strength points/game. Ranked 7th in % of teams points to as well (Menell, Bear, Sanhiem, lees, Bean, Quenneville above him)

A really good first WHL season

 

[Cyborg LeClair]

He's got athletic genes like Seth and Popeye. Like the Subbans, Stromes, Staals, Sutters, this seems like a family worth drafting. Could be a good pickup for the Oilers.

 

[marbsarebad]

I go to a lot of Winterhawks games, and I gotta say, the only flaw I see in C. Jones game is his hand-eye coordination and sometimes his positioning is a little off. He doesn't receive passes very well, but he delivers them above average. This will lead to him missing passes on such things as a power-play and the puck leaving the offensive zone. Someone here said he has great positioning, but I just don't see it. A lot of times he gets burned by the opposing teams forwards, leaving Hill to make the save.

However, he does do everything else above average. Great shot, great passing, great skating, he's physical, and he's probably the hardest working person on the team. I see him being a solid bottom 4 defenseman at the NHL level, most likely bottom pairing, but can be moved up to 2nd if he needs to be. If he works on his positioning he'll be even better, but you can't really teach hand-eye, so he'll probably always have issues with receiving passes.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Edmonton signed Jones to an ELC yesterday, 3 years, 705k cap hit.

 

[sandhu111]

Looks like he's having a strong first quarter of the season @ GP21 G3 A15 P18
any one that has seen him this year with any comments on his play
good stat line indicative of strong play so far this year?

 

[Sam of Montreal]

Stat line looks good, but that +/- is worst on his team. From what I was able to read, defensively he has been hit or miss this season. We will see, but maybe he tries to push offense too much this year?