Player Discussion Zac Jones

[NYSPORTS]

I expect Hajek to get traded for a pick or center depth prospect.

Hajek does not have a spot on this team in my opinion, which is why they protected him in the expansion draft in my opinion to trade him

his value is as low as it can get imo. Doubt much is coming back.

What a crazy rebuild.

From few draft picks to many draft picks
Few prospects to many
Almost all the prospects too young to contribute to the majority needing NHL ice time.

Headed towards not having enough roster space or ice time for all of them with a flat cap. Really need to be careful who to keep and hope they don’t prematurely move a prospect who becomes a star.

Back to Hajek - he’s shown little yet the team has been in a bit if disarray. How does he make it? Meanwhile Jones is kinda ready as is Nils with Miller needing to take a step, existing vets are here and added one. What to do?

 

[chosen]

Inside an NHL offseason skate with Zach Werenski, Zac Jones, Will Lockwood and Brandon Naurato

Zac is working out at the USA Hockey Arena with Zach Werenski, Will Lockwood, Brandon Naurato etc. up in Michigan.

The writer Max Bultman mentioned in the comments section that Jones really stood out at the skate.

That was in reply to my comment.

 

[chosen]

You guys must be bored if you're scraping the bottom of this barrel for something to bitch about.

Nemeth is a fine signing and something that was sorely needed. If Jones or Robertson can't beat out Nemeth for a spot when the time comes then they simply don't deserve a spot. Those guys have a combined 10 games of NHL experience to their credit. There's plenty for them to learn in the AHL.

Even if Jones proves he's better than Nemeth right now (which he is), Nemeth will still get the nod.

 

[Do you want ants]

Even if Jones proves he's better than Nemeth right now (which he is), Nemeth will still get the nod.

What makes you believe this? New coaching staff and mostly new front office.

 

[Thirty One]

What makes you believe this? New coaching staff and mostly new front office.

And, based on the moves made so far, does it seem like the new front office will prefer a 230 lb defenseman or a 154 lb defenseman?

 

[cwede]

Even if Jones proves he's better than Nemeth right now (which he is), Nemeth will still get the nod.

What makes you believe this? New coaching staff and mostly new front office.

Jones can only benefit from a few months, or more, playing all purpose big minutes in AHL
2021-22 is the not the critical NHL season of his career, the ones that follow are

but i do wish they had named a replacement for G-Murph already, such a key season for D-men with the Pack ...

 

[Do you want ants]

And, based on the moves made so far, does it seem like the new front office will prefer a 230 lb defenseman or a 154 lb defenseman?

I’d like to believe our best players will play this time around… if Jones is the better player, I don’t see why he wouldn’t play.

Jones can only benefit from a few months, or more, playing all purpose big minutes in AHL
2021-22 is the not the critical NHL season of his career, the ones that follow are

but i do wish they had named a replacement for G-Murph already, such a key season for D-men with the Pack ...

Zero issue with him playing in the AHL if that’s what they feel is best for his development.

 

[chosen]

What makes you believe this? New coaching staff and mostly new front office.

You don't acquire a mediocre Swedish defenseman just to play with your new, young Swedish high-end prospect and then toss him aside unless he performs like a bear on ice skates.

 

[Do you want ants]

You don't acquire a mediocre Swedish defenseman just to play with your new, young Swedish high-end prospect and then toss him aside unless he performs like a bear on ice skates.

I expect him to play over Jones some. Especially in the games we want to play heavy. I just think if Jones shows he’s a better defender and adds to the transition game and offense more, he’ll play over him.

I also think we’ll have some covid and injury issues and we see a hodgepodge of lineups like every other season.

 

[Trxjw]

Even if Jones proves he's better than Nemeth right now (which he is), Nemeth will still get the nod.

He's played 10 games. Not sure how you can draw any meaningful conclusions from that but to each their own.

 

[SA16]

Jones is almost certainly not better than Nemeth right now and the team's current roster construction would not have Jones playing to his strengths either.

 

[chosen]

He's played 10 games. Not sure how you can draw any meaningful conclusions from that but to each their own.

From those 10 games I learned that Jones doesn't panic, that he's very good at maintaining control of the puck at the offensive blue line, that he makes excellent first passes out of the defensive zone and that he has good offensive instincts.

It's his poise and hockey IQ that stood out to me. To look like that at defense that quickly, at that age, seems like a great start to me and a pretty good indicator of his potential.

 

[cwede]

From those 10 games I learned that Jones doesn't panic, that he's very good at maintaining control of the puck at the offensive blue line, that he makes excellent first passes out of the defensive zone and that he has good offensive instincts.
It's his poise and hockey IQ that stood out to me. To look like that at defense that quickly, at that age, seems like a great start to me and a pretty good indicator of his potential.

I will pile on here, as these couple things stood out to me in that brief period
- his ability to get shots through traffic, and
- a few impressive back-checks (at least one after a misplay) hustling back into own zone and breaking up plays

But i am fine with lots of all-situation AHL minutes for some/most of '21-22

 

[Fitzy]

Even if Jones proves he's better than Nemeth right now (which he is), Nemeth will still get the nod.

The 'roles' matter a lot here, and to Drury.

Nemeth's role is to stay at home and kill penalties, while adding some experience to an extremely green blueline.

Jones should be option number one on the power play in Hartford (Sorry Tarmo) and there will always be injury callups to whomever among the young Hartford group is doing best.

 

[OrlandK]

Jones skill set is so far beyond Nemeth's already. Agree that for the upcoming season Rangers better served with Jones @ Hartford. And Nemeth seems like a better pairing for Lundquist. I do find the constant reference that Nemeth being Swedish as an important factor in why he is so good for Nils laughable. BTW - the Swedish tend to speak English better than most New Yorker's I know.

However if ultimately Schneider proves better than Nils down the road all bets are off as Jones would seem to be a much better match for Braden than the plodding Nemeth.

 

[SA16]

Jones is the only player drafted in the third round of the 2019 draft to even play a single game in the NHL so far. He's one of two players taken from the third round on to have played any NHL games. There is no need to rush him right now. Let him play a year in Hartford getting top pair/top PP time and let him develop.

 

[chosen]

Jones is almost certainly not better than Nemeth right now and the team's current roster construction would not have Jones playing to his strengths either.

The Rangers signed Patrik Nemeth to bolster their depth at defence. The price tag is affordable, but there are real questions around Nemeth’s game especially after the end of last season. After posting awful possession metrics in 11 regular-season games, he hit an even-lower low with a -18.5 percent relative Corsi in ten postseason contests. His ice time dropped to just 15:46 per game, and he converted no takeaways but blundered six giveaways. That included one particularly egregious giveaway that resulted in a goal against and tied game four of their second-round series.

 

[chosen]

I will pile on here, as these couple things stood out to me in that brief period
- his ability to get shots through traffic, and
- a few impressive back-checks (at least one after a misplay) hustling back into own zone and breaking up plays

But i am fine with lots of all-situation AHL minutes for some/most of '21-22

Don't disagree that Jones might be better off starting in AHL. My only point is that he has already shown some real NHL skills.

 

[NYR Viper]

The Rangers signed Patrik Nemeth to bolster their depth at defence. The price tag is affordable, but there are real questions around Nemeth’s game especially after the end of last season. After posting awful possession metrics in 11 regular-season games, he hit an even-lower low with a -18.5 percent relative Corsi in ten postseason contests. His ice time dropped to just 15:46 per game, and he converted no takeaways but blundered six giveaways. That included one particularly egregious giveaway that resulted in a goal against and tied game four of their second-round series.

If we look at Nemeth's last 3 seasons in total:

2018-2019
Colorado
74 games played
10 points
16:29 average TOI
-2.6 corsi rel at 5v5


2019-2020
Detroit
64 games played
9 points
22:02 average TOI
+4.8 corsi rel at 5v5



2020-2021
Detroit
39 games played
8 points
18:24 average TOI
+2.1 corsi rel at 5v5

Colorado
13 games played
2 points
16:51 average TOI
-4.6 corsi rel at 5v5

This actually averages out to:
-0.1 corsi rel at 5v5 overall



Overall he is a pretty consistent bottom-pairing guy who can PK pretty well and plays a pretty physical game. His playoff stats were a small sample and more than likely a case of him playing with the depth lines of Colorado which SUCKED in the playoffs once Kadri had the book thrown at him.

 

[chosen]

If we look at Nemeth's last 3 seasons in total:

2018-2019
Colorado
74 games played
10 points
16:29 average TOI
-2.6 corsi rel at 5v5


2019-2020
Detroit
64 games played
9 points
22:02 average TOI
+4.8 corsi rel at 5v5



2020-2021
Detroit
39 games played
8 points
18:24 average TOI
+2.1 corsi rel at 5v5

Colorado
13 games played
2 points
16:51 average TOI
-4.6 corsi rel at 5v5

This actually averages out to:
-0.1 corsi rel at 5v5 overall



Overall he is a pretty consistent bottom-pairing guy who can PK pretty well and plays a pretty physical game. His playoff stats were a small sample and more than likely a case of him playing with the depth lines of Colorado which SUCKED in the playoffs once Kadri had the book thrown at him.

He is an improvement on Hajek, so I'm fine with him starting on the bottom pair.

 

[Trxjw]

From those 10 games I learned that Jones doesn't panic, that he's very good at maintaining control of the puck at the offensive blue line, that he makes excellent first passes out of the defensive zone and that he has good offensive instincts.

It's his poise and hockey IQ that stood out to me. To look like that at defense that quickly, at that age, seems like a great start to me and a pretty good indicator of his potential.

I agree that he has great potential. Great potential can be realized with time in the AHL as well. I also don't think 10 games with very sheltered minutes is evidence that he's better than Nemeth already.

 

[free0717]

I didnt like the Nemeth signing for three seasons. I wanted Chara for one season then transition to Jones or Robertson.

 

[SA16]

If we look at Nemeth's last 3 seasons in total:

2018-2019
Colorado
74 games played
10 points
16:29 average TOI
-2.6 corsi rel at 5v5


2019-2020
Detroit
64 games played
9 points
22:02 average TOI
+4.8 corsi rel at 5v5



2020-2021
Detroit
39 games played
8 points
18:24 average TOI
+2.1 corsi rel at 5v5

Colorado
13 games played
2 points
16:51 average TOI
-4.6 corsi rel at 5v5

This actually averages out to:
-0.1 corsi rel at 5v5 overall



Overall he is a pretty consistent bottom-pairing guy who can PK pretty well and plays a pretty physical game. His playoff stats were a small sample and more than likely a case of him playing with the depth lines of Colorado which SUCKED in the playoffs once Kadri had the book thrown at him.

He actually has quite bad PK results. He’s a good 5v5 defensive defenseman though.

 

[Thirty One]

He actually has quite bad PK results.

That's because the other team has more players on.

 

[eco's bones]

Even if Jones proves he's better than Nemeth right now (which he is), Nemeth will still get the nod.

You have to qualify what better means. Fox is going to get the lion’s share of power play time and he’s earned that. That will put a limit on the effectiveness of both Lundkvist’s and Jones’ offensive games which really speaks to their strengths as individual hockey players. They both are going to need to be able to play really good D if we’re going to justify either of them making the team.