Powell River Kings have announced the third addition to their lineup from Shattuck-St. Mary’s School (Faribault, Minnesota) in the past two days.
Will Jones joins Anthony Yu and Noah Eyre on the BC Hockey League (BCHL) club’s roster.
Jones, who is from Brentwood, Tennessee, spent the previous four seasons in Shattuck-St. Mary’s program; he led all defenders in points in each of his last two campaigns. This past season he played in 55 games, collecting two goals and 32 assists.
“Will is a tenacious defenceman who makes up for his lack of size with his skating ability and puck skills,” stated Kings’ coach Brock Sawyer in a media release. “He possesses good habits and can contribute in all three zones. He processes the game well and makes timely decisions to help his team.”
Jones may not possess the size expected from a defender, added Sawyer, but he fits perfectly into the modern-era of smaller, high-skilled defenders such as a Quinn Hughes-type player. He was born in 2004 and is five-feet, nine-inches tall.
With the three newest recruits in Eyre, Yu and Jones, the Kings have accomplished a rare feat of not only getting three players from the same program, but a trio that has played together for the past three seasons. Kings’ general manager Chad Van Diemen expects that can be an advantage come the start of the season.
“Having three players come in who have played together the last three seasons will help them with the transition to junior hockey and hopefully helps with their confidence levels right off the hop,” stated Van Diemen. “They have been held to a high standard on and off the ice as well as in the classroom. We want to set high standards this season and we feel the three of them will be able to come in and contribute to our team's success right from day one.”
Kings will have four Shattuck alumni in the lineup next season as returning defender Casey Aman spent three seasons at the Minnesota boarding school before joining the Kings last year.
