When the Boston Bruins return to the ice this fall, there will be a number of new faces. The two biggest additions will be Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, while there will also be some notable faces missing with Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk signing elsewhere this summer.
Related: Meet the New Bruins: Nikita Zadorov
While maybe not the biggest name, there is a lot to also be intrigued about with the addition of Max Jones, who was signed to a two-year, $2 million deal. It’s a smaller contract that only carries an average annual value of $1 million. He’s a low cap hit guy, similar to the signings that they made last summer when they had very little cap space. But, guys like Danton Heinen and James van Riemsdyk ended up providing a lot more than was expected for the contract they were under. Jones could be the next successful “cheap” signing from general manager Don Sweeney.
Jones’ Road to the NHL
Jones is still fairly young. He was born on Feb. 17, 1998, and is currently 26 years old. He stands at 6-foot-3, fitting in with the Bruins’ front office’s love of size. An American-born player, he grew up in Michigan. His father, Brad Jones, was a former professional hockey player who appeared in 148 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and Philadelphia Flyers in the late 80s, and early 90s. He also spent some time playing abroad in leagues in Finland and Germany.
Jones joined the United States’ Development Program, playing for their junior team in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the 2014-15 season. That season, he also played for the US national U17 and U18 teams.
In the 2015-16 season, the season leading up to his draft year, Jones decided to go a different route, joining the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the three major junior leagues in Canada. He was drafted by the London Knights, joining a very talented roster that included Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Christian Dvorak, Evan Bouchard, and Robert Thomas.
Jones was sixth on that roster in points with 52 in 63 games that season, including 28 goals. The Knights went on to win the Memorial Cup, the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Jones though only appeared in six games during the playoff run, registering one goal and two points. He received a 12-game suspension after a blindside hit during a playoff game against the Owen Sound Attack.
Still, Jones entered the 2016 NHL Draft as a Memorial…
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