Jessica Jones (born August 30, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Toronto of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Jones was a member of the Canadian national under-18 team that competed at the inaugural IIHF Women's U18 World Championships in 2008.[1] She was selected to compete in the 2017 CWHL All-Star Game, the third All-Star Game in her Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) career.[2]

Jess Jones
Jones playing for the Buffalo Beauts in 2017
Born (1990-08-30) August 30, 1990 (age 33)
Picton, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Weight 135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
PWHL team
Former teams
PWHL Toronto
PWHPA
Markham Thunder
Buffalo Beauts
HK Pantera Minsk
Mercyhurst Lakers
National team  Canada
Playing career 2008–present
Medal record
World U18 Championship
Silver medal – second place 2008 Canada

Playing career edit

Hockey Canada edit

Jones was a member of the Team Ontario Red squad that captured its fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2007 Canadian U18 national women's ice hockey championships.[3] With the national under-18 team, Jones would gain three points in a 17–0 win against Finland on January 9, 2008.[4] Two of her teammates from Team Canada's U18 roster in 2008 would one day be teammates on the Brampton Thunder; Laura McIntosh and Laura Fortino.

NCAA edit

Jones played with the Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey program in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference of the NCAA Division I from 2008 to 2012. She appeared in 138 games and amassed 154 points. In her senior season, she logged a career-best 48 points, complemented by six power play goals.

Europe edit

After graduating from Mercyhurst, Jones opted to play in the Elite Women's Hockey League (EWHL), signing with the league’s lone Belarusian team, HK Pantera Minsk. She was the only Canadian on a roster dominated by Belarusian and Russian players but which also included expatriates Galina Larionova of Kazakhstan, Martina Veličková of Slovakia, Tatyana Chizhova and Nataliya Kozachuk of Ukraine, and Kelly Buchta and Kathryn Walker of the United States. Jones finished the season as the team's leading scorer, logging 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points in just 19 games played and posting an excellent +43 plus-minus which tied for team best with Pantera’s second leading scorer, Lidiya Malyavko. That season, Jones and her teammates would compete in the EWHL Super Cup, where she logged eight points as Pantera won the Super Cup for the first time.

CWHL edit

Jones was selected in the first round, third overall by the Brampton Thunder in the 2013 CWHL Draft.[5] She made her CWHL debut with the Thunder on November 2, 2013, against the Boston Blades. The following day, Jones scored her first CWHL goal in a rematch with the Blades against Brittany Ott, assisted by Lindsey Vine and Sarah Moe.[6] Her first multi-point game was logged on February 8, 2014, against the Montreal Stars.[7][8] Jones logged nine points in 23 games played during her rookie CWHL season in 2013–14.

During the 2014–15 season, Jones scored the first game-winning goal of her CWHL career on November 15, 2014, against the Montreal Stars; a power play goal scored on Stars' goaltender Charline Labonté in the second period, with assists from Jennifer Kirk and Dania Simmonds.[9][10] In addition, she was among the competitors at the 1st Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game, contested at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 campaign, Jones was the leading scorer for the Thunder with 16 points, finishing one point ahead of Laura Fortino for the lead.[11][12]

At the 3rd CWHL All-Star Game, Jones and Jillian Saulnier both scored a hat-trick, becoming the first competitors in CWHL All-Star Game history to achieve the feat.[13]

Jones tied for first in the league scoring race with 37 points in the 2016–17 CWHL season and co-won the Angela James Bowl with Marie-Philip Poulin. Statistically, her finest single-game performance was a five-point effort in a January 21, 2017 road game against the Boston Blades, which saw the Thunder prevail by an 8-0 margin. Jones scored a goal in each period and logged assists on a first period goal by Rebecca Vint and on Laura Fortino's fourth goal of the season, scored in the second period.[14]

NWHL edit

On August 31, 2017, Jones signed with the Buffalo Beauts as a free agent, joining former Thunder teammates Sarah Edney and Rebecca Vint who also signed with the Beauts.[15]

PWHL edit

In 2023, Jones signed a contract with PWHL Toronto following a training camp invitation.[16] In order to sign with the team, she took a leave of absence from her role as a police officer with the Ontario Provincial Police.[17]

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Whitby Wolves PWHL 30 20 11 31 35 3 2 1 3 12
2006–07 Whitby Wolves PWHL 32 21 8 29 54 6 4 2 6 4
2007–08 Whitby Wolves PWHL 27 16 12 28 30 4 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Mercyhurst Lakers NCAA 37 16 18 34 24
2009–10 Mercyhurst Lakers NCAA 36 20 26 46 28
2010–11 Mercyhurst Lakers NCAA 29 12 14 26 20
2011–12 Mercyhurst Lakers NCAA 34 13 35 48 22
2012–13 HK Pantera Minsk EWHL 19 28 25 53 18
2013–14 Brampton Thunder CWHL 23 5 4 9 26
2014–15 Brampton Thunder CWHL 24 7 9 16 12
2015–16 Brampton Thunder CWHL 24 14 10 24 36 2 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Brampton Thunder CWHL 24 17 20 37 28
2017–18 Buffalo Beauts NWHL 14 4 5 9 11 2 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Markham Thunder CWHL 25 9 6 15 20 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Toronto PWHPA 7 1 1 2 4
2022–23 Team Adidas PWHPA 8 0 1 1 0
NCAA totals 136 61 93 154 94
CWHL totals 120 52 49 101 122 4 0 0 0 0
PWHPA totals 8 0 1 1 0

International edit

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2008 U18 U18   5 2 4 6 4
Junior totals 5 2 4 6 4

Awards and honours edit

  • 2009 College Hockey America All-Rookie Team
  • 2009 College Hockey America All-Tournament Team
  • College Hockey America Player of the Week (Week of March 1, 2010)
  • CWHL All-Star Game (2014, 2016, 2017)
  • Finalist, 2017 CWHL Most Valuable Player[18]
  • 2017 Angela James Bowl (co-winner with Marie-Philip Poulin)

References edit

  1. ^ "U18 WOMEN'S WORLDS – CANADA - CAN – Roster". Hockey Canada. 2008. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. ^ Stewart, Sasky (December 19, 2016). "34 Players Named to 2017 All-Star Game". CWHL. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  3. ^ LaRose, Jason (November 6, 2008). "A Chance to Turn Heads". Hockey Canada. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "Canada Tunes Up for Semi-Final with 17-0 Rout of Finland". Hockey Canada. January 9, 2008. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  5. ^ "Former Laker Jess Jones Picked 3rd Overall in CWHL Draft". Mercyhurst Athletics. August 27, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. ^ "Game Recap". CWHL - Canadiennes de Montreal. November 3, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  7. ^ "Game Recap". CWHL - Canadiennes de Montreal. February 8, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "CWHL 2013/2014 – Schedule – Sat, Feb 08 > Montreal Stars vs Brampton Thunder". Pointstreak. February 8, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  9. ^ "Game Recap". CWHL - Canadiennes de Montreal. November 15, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  10. ^ "CWHL 2014/2015 – Schedule – Sat, Nov 15 > Brampton Thunder vs Montreal Stars". Pointstreak. November 14, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Game Recap". CWHL - Canadiennes de Montreal. n.d. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  12. ^ "Brampton Thunder – CWHL 2014/2015 – Stats, Active Players". Pointstreak. 2015. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Colpitts, Iain (February 13, 2017). "Jones shines in CWHL All-Star Game". Brampton Guardian. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  14. ^ "Brampton Thunder 8 - 0 Boston Blades, Game #45, Saturday, January 21, 2017". TheCWHL.com. January 21, 2017. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "Scoring Machine Jess Jones is a Beaut". NWHL.zone. August 31, 2017. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  16. ^ Parks, Jason (January 3, 2024). "Hearing the Call: County's Jess Jones set to make hockey history". The Picton Gazette. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  17. ^ Ganter, Mike (December 12, 2023). "Caledon OPP constable cops spot on Toronto's PWHL entry". Toronto Sun. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  18. ^ "Picton's Jess Jones a finalist for CWHL MVP honours". The Belleville Intelligencer. February 28, 2017. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.

External links edit