x

Already member? Login first!

Comments / New

2016 NHL Draft: Max Jones Is A Player You’ll Like And They’ll Hate

  • Position: Left Wing
  • Shoots: Left
  • Height: 6’3″ (Via Hockey DB)
  • Weight: 205 (Via Hockey DB)
  • Team: London Knights (OHL)
  • Hometown: Rochester, Michigan
  • Birth Year: February 17, 1998/

Max Jones Can Pretty Much Do It All

A ‘nasty’ goal scorer? Well, that’s how you describe Max Jones. Jones lit the lamp 28 times and added 24 helpers in 63 games with the London Knights a season ago but also racked up 106 penalty minutes in those contests.

We’re not talking about minor penatlies, either. This kid lays the wood.

Here he is laying a hit on Justin Brack that got him ejected from the game (it’s vicious):

With that being said, he obviously has some extreme offensive upside as well as you can see from his point total. Think a younger, taller James Neal that can really throw his body around – obviously at the junior level. Whether or not that type of play will fly at the next level is a question mark, but if guys like Andrew Shaw, Brad Marchand and the aforementioned Neal can ‘get away with it’ and succeed why couldn’t Jones?

The young man can absolutely skate….and finish:

It is tough to knock Jones’ game when it comes to offense. He was on a loaded London team with a first-line of Christian Dvorak, Mitch Marner and Matt Tkachuk therefore his 52 points in 63 regular season contests isn’t anything to scoff at.

The best case scenario of course is for him to develop into a two-way power forward seen in the top-six. He’s certainly shown he could develop into that and he has the physical size to do so, but that’s a question mark as soon as you step on NHL ice.

Is he worth the 17th overall pick?

Yep, you bet.

The Preds have expressed that they will go after a blue liner if a premier guy is there, but if Jones is there – a vicious two-way guy that could bring an element to the organization that isn’t that common – could be huge.

Sure, defensemen over forward is the priority, but Jones could be something special at the NHL level if things pan out as expected.