Seth Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Seth Jones |
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Jones with the Nashville Predators in 2014
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| Born | October 3, 1994 Arlington, Texas, U.S. |
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| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Chicago Blackhawks Nashville Predators Columbus Blue Jackets |
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| National team |  United States |
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| NHL Draft | 4th overall, 2013 Nashville Predators |
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| Playing career | 2013–present | ||
Jared Seth Jones (born October 3, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey player. He plays as a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League (NHL). A defenseman's main job is to stop the other team from scoring. He also serves as an alternate captain for his team. Seth was chosen fourth overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining the NHL, he played for the United States National Team Development Program and the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Portland Winterhawks.
Seth has proudly played for the United States many times in international games. He won two gold medals in a row at the 2011 and 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was also part of the team that won a gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Contents
Early Life and First Skates
Seth Jones was born in Arlington, Texas. His dad, Ronald "Popeye" Jones, was a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Seth is the middle of three brothers; his younger brother, Caleb, also plays ice hockey.
Seth started playing hockey when he was five years old. His family was living in Denver, Colorado, at the time. His older brother, Justin, wanted to play inline hockey with friends. So, Justin and Seth got inline skates. Later, in the winter, they got ice hockey skates.
Seth's dad didn't know much about ice hockey. He asked Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Sakic, a famous hockey player, for advice. Sakic told him to have his sons focus on skating. Seth took skating lessons for a whole year before he started playing organized hockey at age six. He even watched the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2001!
Playing Career Highlights
Starting Out in Amateur Hockey
Seth began playing organized hockey with local teams in Denver. When he was eight, he started playing with travel teams. He even played in the famous Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament three times.
When Seth was 12, his family moved back to Texas. Around this time, he decided he wanted to play for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP). He played for the Dallas Stars' Bantam Major team, scoring 33 points in 31 games.
The Everett Silvertips chose Seth in the 2009 Bantam draft. He was expected to be picked higher. But teams worried he might choose to play college hockey instead of the Western Hockey League (WHL). After being drafted, Seth played one more season in Dallas before joining the NTDP.
In his first year with the NTDP, Seth played for both the under-17 and under-18 teams. He was a co-captain for the U-17 team. He scored 21 points in 37 games, leading the team's defensemen in scoring. The next season, he scored 31 points in 52 games.
After two seasons, Seth had to choose between college hockey or the WHL. He decided to play in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks. He was expected to be a top pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Experts ranked him as the number one prospect in North America.
Seth finished his WHL season with 14 goals and 56 points in 61 games. His team, the Portland Winterhawks, won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions. They also made it to the final of the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament. Seth scored a goal in the final game, but his team lost. He was named to the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team. He also won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year.
Even though he was ranked number one, the Colorado Avalanche chose another player first in the NHL draft. Seth was then picked fourth overall by the Nashville Predators. A month later, he signed his first NHL contract.
Playing as a Professional
Nashville Predators
Seth Jones made his National Hockey League debut on October 3, 2013. He scored his first NHL goal just nine days later against the New York Islanders.
Columbus Blue Jackets
In January 2016, Seth was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had scored 63 points in 199 NHL games with the Predators. In June 2016, he signed a big six-year contract with the Blue Jackets.
During the 2016–17 season, Seth got a small fracture in his foot. He missed six games but came back strong. He finished the season with his best numbers yet in assists, goals, and points.
In the 2017–18 season, Seth became one of the Blue Jackets' best defensemen. He played a lot of minutes in each game. He was chosen to play in the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. Sadly, he couldn't play because he was sick. At the end of that season, he tied a team record for most goals by a defenseman in a season, with 16.
Before the 2018–19 season, Seth hurt his knee and missed the first seven games. In February 2020, he had ankle surgery. But he was able to return when the season started again for the playoffs. In one playoff game, Seth played for an incredible 65 minutes and 6 seconds. This was an NHL record for a defenseman in a single playoff game!
Chicago Blackhawks
On July 23, 2021, Seth was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. The trade also involved draft picks. A few days later, on July 28, 2021, Seth signed a long eight-year contract with the Blackhawks.
International Play
 Jones playing for Team USA in the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships |
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| Medal record | ||
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| Ice hockey | ||
Representing  United States |
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| World Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2015 Czech Republic | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2013 Russia | |
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
| Gold | 2012 Czech Republic | |
| Gold | 2011 Germany | |
| World Under-17 Hockey Challenge | ||
| Silver | 2011 Manitoba | |
Seth first played for the United States at the 2010 Under-17 (U-17) Four Nations Cup. Team USA won first place in that tournament.
He then played in the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. Team USA went undefeated in the first round. They made it to the gold medal game but lost, winning the silver medal. Seth was named the player of the game for the United States in that loss. He was also named to the tournament all-star team.
Later that year, Seth joined Team USA for the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships. The United States won all their games and reached the gold medal game. They were down by two goals in the third period but came back to win the gold medal in overtime! Seth had three assists in six games.
In 2012, Seth was chosen to play for the United States 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships team. But he couldn't play because of an injury. He returned to international play at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he was the captain of Team USA. The American team was undefeated again and won their fourth straight gold medal at the Under-18 tournament. Seth scored 3 goals and 8 points in 6 games. He was named player of the game twice and was chosen as one of the team's top three players.
For the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Seth was named an alternate captain for Team USA. Even though Canada was a favorite, Seth felt the Americans were the best team. Team USA lost two games early on. But they won a big game against Slovakia to make it to the medal round. They then defeated the Czech Republic and Canada to reach the gold medal game. In the championship game, Team USA rallied to win 3–1 against Sweden. Seth had seven points in seven games during the tournament.
Personal Life
Seth Jones' father, Ronald "Popeye" Jones, is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. He is now an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets. Seth has two brothers. His younger brother, Caleb, also plays in the NHL for the Colorado Avalanche.
Career Statistics
Regular Season and Playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2010–11 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 57 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 52 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 61 | 14 | 42 | 56 | 33 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 77 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 40 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 41 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 75 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 78 | 16 | 41 | 57 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 75 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 56 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 56 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 78 | 5 | 46 | 51 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 72 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 797 | 90 | 315 | 405 | 286 | 37 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 14 | ||||
International Play Statistics
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | United States | U17 |  |
5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2011 | United States | U18 |  |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2012 | United States | U18 | |
6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | United States | WJC | |
7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2014 | United States | WC | 6th | 8 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2015 | United States | WC |  |
10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Team North America | WCH | 5th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2022 | United States | WC | 4th | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | United States | WC | 5th | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 24 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 39 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 12 | ||||
Awards and Honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team | 2013 | |
| Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL Rookie of the Year) | 2013 | |
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 | |
| NHL Second All-Star Team | 2018 | |
| IIHF | ||
| World U-17 Hockey Challenge All-Star Team | 2011 | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships Team USA Best Player (one of three) | 2012 | |
| World Championship All-Star Team | 2014, 2022 | |
| World Championship Best Defenseman | 2014 | |
NHL Record
- Most time on ice by a defenseman in one playoff game: 65 minutes, 6 seconds (August 11, 2020)
