Zachary Jones

November 2024 – After finding himself in the press box for most of New York’s first several games this season, Jones looks to have now locked down a full-time role on the Rangers’ blue line. The slightly undersized, but swift skating defenseman has posted five points in 11 games played thus far this season, and has looked confident with the puck on his stick.  Jones has recently been given a chance to quarterback New York’s second power play unit, as well, enabling him to showcase his great puck skills and playmaking ability. An elite passer with above-average vision and decision-making, Jones has a tremendous opportunity to truly establish himself as a full-time lineup mainstay, after bouncing in and out of the Rangers’ lineup for the last number of seasons.  If Jones continues to have a regular role, especially with power play minutes, he can become a very good fantasy option, and could even ultimately become a high-end point producer.  Jones will be plenty motivated to keep up his strong play, as he looks to remain permanently in New York’s lineup and earn himself a nice contract extension this upcoming summer.  Brendan Ferry

August 2024 – The soon-to-be 24-year-old Jones appeared in 31 games with New York in 2023-24, mostly as an injury fill-in. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette opted for a veteran, Erik Gustafsson, as his sixth defenseman most nights last season, but that is no longer a concern for Jones, as Gustafsson signed with the Detroit Red Wings in free agency following the season. 2024-25 represents Jones’ best opportunity yet to grab onto the sixth defenseman slot and not look back. The smooth-skating playmaker, assuming that he can lock down that role, also has an opportunity to quarterback New York’s second power play unit this upcoming season. Jones earned the appreciation of his coaches last season by working hard in practice and being ready to jump into the lineup and play well whenever called upon. Now, it seems that he will have the chance to prove himself as a full-time NHLer. Brendan Ferry

December 2023 – Jones has appeared in 11 games with the Rangers this season as an injury fill-in, registering three assists.  The 23 year-old can no longer be sent to the AHL without first passing through waivers.  As a result, he has maintained his spot on New York’s roster as the seventh defenseman, and was called into duty when Adam Fox went down earlier in the season with a leg injury.  Unfortunately for Jones, he was unable to lock down the number six defenseman slot in training camp, after the Rangers signed Erik Gustafsson in the offseason.  For the time being, the 23 year-old has to be content with continuing to hone his game while practicing with the NHL club.  To his credit, after previously admitting that shuffling between the AHL and NHL had impacted his confidence and general demeanor in the past couple of years, the smooth skating lefty has adopted a positive attitude about his lack of game action, and is ready to answer the call again whenever needed.  Signed through 2024-2025, the organization can always use him as a trade chip down the road, if need be.  Jones possesses all of the talent to be an everyday NHLer, and given his offensive prowess, he will likely emerge in a top six role in the not- too- distant future, whether with the Rangers organization or otherwise.  Brendan Ferry

January 2023 – Jones, sent down to AHL Hartford after appearing in 16 games with the Rangers earlier this season, has now appeared in 18 games with the Wolf Pack, registering 12 points and a plus-10 rating, pretty good numbers for a member of the Hartford team that has been on the wrong end of several lopsided scores thus far this year. Although certainly disappointed that he wasn’t able to lock down the sixth defenseman spot in New York, this is probably the best-case scenario for the lefty defenseman, who is playing heavy minutes down in the A. By all accounts, “Jonesy” has put his head down and gone to work on building his game and his confidence, after he identified that he was “in his own head” a bit, trying to impress the NYR coaches during his time with the big club. Brendan Ferry

2022  Jones made the Rangers out of training camp, and has appeared in 11 games so far this year, posting one goal and one assist.  He has been a healthy scratch on several occasions this year, ceding playing time to fellow LHD Libor Hajek.  Jones has played with confidence, but has made some unforced errors, which has been the cause of his fluctuation in and out of the lineup.  If Jones can clean up a few of his mistakes, he has a great opportunity to earn more playing time throughout the course of the season.  NYR defensemen have already lost some man games this season due to injury, so there will undoubtedly be more opportunities forthcoming for the puck moving lefty.  Brendan Ferry

July 2022 – UMass product Jones, who split time this year between the Rangers and AHL Hartford, is looking to carve out a permanent roster spot on next year’s Rangers team. Jones, the gifted puck mover and playmaking defenseman’s biggest challenge in doing so is the overall depth on both the NYR blueline and in the team’s prospect pool. There should be one spot up for grabs moving into next season on the blueline. Both Patrik Nemeth and Libor Hajek could be on the move for salary cap and performance reasons. Jones or fellow prospect Nils Lundkvist, if neither is traded this offseason, are a decent bet to grab onto the role of third pair defenseman, alongside Braden Schneider. Jones, who posted 35 points this year in 52 games with Hartford, hopes to make the permanent jump. Brendan Ferry

April 2021 – After playing a prominent role in his sophomore season with the National Champion UMass Minutemen, Zach Jones has signed an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers. It’s been reported that Jones will join the Rangers immediately, in turn, burning the first year of his contract. Although it’s unlikely that his immediately deployment will be favorable in terms of extensive offensive opportunity, Jones’ long-term future with the organization looks very bright. Considering the success that the organization has had with fostering development with NCAA alumni Adam Fox and K’andre Miller, Jones is poised to continue an extremely impressive trend. Brayden Olafson

January 2020 – The American defenseman had somewhat of a coming-out party at the 2020 WJC in the Czech Republic. Despite a disappointing finish for the red, white and blue, Jones surprised many by playing a relatively prominent role. He’s also having an excellent rookie season with UMass Amherst, giving the impression that he could be ready to sign an NHL contract prior to his Junior year with the Minutemen. As a recent third-round draft-pick, Jones’ value is climbing quickly from where it was only six months ago. Brayden Olafson

June 2019 – Jones was drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round of the 2019 Entry draft. He recently concluded a highly successful offensive campaign with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and will attend UMass Amherst in the fall. He’s a nimble blueliner who takes his offense seriously. Brayden Olafson