Colorado Avalanche Draft Choice: Max Jones

Time for another profile of a possible Colorado Avalanche draft pick. Today’s subject is London Knights forward Max Jones.

This is my second draft profile of the year, and I’m terrified to write it. Because unlike my Patrik Laine profile, Max Jones is a whole different type of player when it comes to the draft.

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Patrik Laine isn’t what the Avs need (a freaking defenseman), but he’s so skilled that if he somehow fell to the Avs they’d have to take him.

On the other hand Max Jones is projected to go around the 20th pick, so the Avalanche will most likely have a chance at him. And unfortunately he is exactly what Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic has been misguidedly trying to build the team with.

The Stats

Position: Left Wing

Shoots: Left

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 201 pounds

Age: 18

Minor Team: London Knights

NHL Player Most Like: Gabriel Landeskog

More from Mile High Sticking

As you can see from the numbers, Max Jones isn’t the scoring sensation that many players are in juniors. His 52 points in 62 games is respectable for sure, but it’s a far cry from what the super stars put up in the league.

I only highlight this to show the difference between the 2nd and 18ish overall pick.

Regardless Max Jones is known for his physical, two way play and his dedication. Besides points, Jones has wracked up a lot of tallies in another category: penalty minutes. But sometimes that comes with being a two way player. From hockey prospects:

"Max Jones is a diligent and hard-working power forward capable of being an impact player every shift. He’s strong on the puck and routinely looks to create separation. He knows his game inside out and has a wide array of tools at his disposal. Strength and speed allow him to bull his way to the front of the net where he is relentless and creates havoc. Makes smart decisions with the puck and doesn’t give the opposition time and space. Possesses high-end finishing ability and “wills” the puck to the back of the net. All-in-all, a determined forward who puts tremendous pressure on his opponents when he’s on the ice."

Those are a lot of the qualities that the Colorado Avalanche want to promote in their playing style moving forward.

Movie Time

Now for my favorite part, (which is also what I do for fun), videos of the players!

First up is why Max Jones recently became famous:

Yeahhhhhhh….

So that was a heavy 11 game suspension in the playoffs. Apparently it hasn’t hurt his draft stock according to the insiders, but it scares me. That’s basically a frame by frame duplicate of every dirty hit example the NHL has said they’re taking out of the game.

Regardless, there’s lots of good stuff to!

To be honest, barring the dangerous and dumb hit above, I really like the kid’s play. Good puck protection is becoming more and more important as the league shifts from dump and chase to puck control, and Jones is a natural at using his body to protect the puck.

He puts his head down and charges to the net often with seemingly no fear. He’ll need to add some weight to try that in the NHL, but there are a lot of players who would rather try the pretty play that doesn’t lead to them getting hit than put their head down and take the cross checks or slash.

In addition, although it’s not in the video, he is a solid defensive player. Blocks shots, takes the body, and moves the puck well. I like that!

Conclusion

Max Jones would be a solid pick if the Colorado Avalanche were in the 16-20 range. But with the tenth pick, a wealth of forwards, a black hole of a defense core, and an already overly aggressive left winger who gets dumb penalties and suspensions (Landeskog), it’s just not worth the Avs blowing a high pick on the kid.

Next: Julien Gauthier Draft Profile

Yet this is exactly the kind of player Sakic has been adding lately in his Shawn Matthais-type acquisitions, so I could see him drooling over another Landeskog. Please no — one is enough.