The Student News Site of University of Arizona

The Daily Wildcat

48° Tucson, AZ

The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

Wildcat hockey welcomes defenseman Ben Jones for 2018-19 season

Ben Jones is a new Arizona Wildcat Hockey recruit from the St. Louis Jr. Blues.
Courtesy Ben Jones
Ben Jones is a new Arizona Wildcat Hockey recruit from the St. Louis Jr. Blues.

Wildcat hockey announced Thursday afternoon that they had recruited defenseman Benjamin Jones, who will join the team as a 19-year-old freshman.

Jones is a Missouri native and a product of the St. Louis Blues youth program with his highest experience being at the NA3HL level with the St. Louis Jr. Blues. In his lone season in the program, he had 23 points (4,19) in 38 games.

He also played at least three seasons with the Christian Brothers College High Cadets and was named captain for his senior season.

Jones stands at 5’11”, 190lbs, which is about average for Arizona following their previous draft class. He’s a left-shooting defenseman who was not only on the same team, but also the same pair as Matthew Hohl, who committed to UA hockey on April 11. The two of them, as reported by UA hockey, only let up one goal while they were on the ice during their playoff run with the Jr. Blues.

In a press release from Wildcat hockey, head coach Chad Berman praised Jones for his skating ability saying, “He excels at using his feet to create time and space and moves pucks up in transitions very well, which fits perfectly into our teams system and skill-set.

As a left-handed shot, he will fit well along-side Hohl on the blueline. Berman was enthusiastic about the chemistry and familiarity Hohl and Jones have with each other and said that makes them an even greater addition to the program.

Given their familiarity, Jones and Hohl have the ability to transition to the ACHA game much like current Wildcats Trey Decker, Justin Plumhoff, and Josh Larson did in the 2017-18 season. All three played together in the EHL for the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers and used that prior chemistry to be one of the top lines on the team, and have two members of the line (Plumhoff, Larson) finish in the top five for team scoring.


Follow Rachel Huston on Twitter

More to Discover
Activate Search