Jones cherishes time with Hurricanes

By Lethbridge Herald on April 11, 2023.

Herald photo by JUSTIN SEWARD Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Jett Jones attempts to hit a Moose Jaw Warrior during Game 3 of the team’s first-round playoff series at the Enmax Centre last week.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Lethbridge Hurricanes 20-year-old forward Jett Jones skated in all of his 230 games  with the same team and saw his Western Hockey League career come to an end last week after being swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 6-foot-3 207-pound Olds, Alta., product collected 54 goals and 67 assists for 121 points in the regular season and added another three points in eight postseason games with the Canes.

Jones saved his best season for last, as he produced 52 points (21 goals, 29 points) in 67 games this past season.

“It was awesome,” said Jones, on being a Hurricane.

“You couldn’t ask for a better place than Lethbridge. It’s a perfect place to play junior hockey. It’s not too big and it’s not too chaotic when it comes to being a young kid playing hockey. So for the city part, yeah it was amazing. And then you get to the organization, and you couldn’t ask for a better organization — you know the coaches, the whole Hurricanes staff, the organization upstairs — you know everybody treats you like a pro and couldn’t have been luckier to play there.”

Jones had the honour of co-captaining with Joe Arntsen over the last two seasons.

“It means a lot,” said Jones.

“It’s a great group of guys. Both years our (players with)  letters were both a great group  of guys as well. So it makes our job easy.  You know, there’s a lot of leaders on the team. There always is, but I think those two years we had a lot of guys step up.”

Jones said there’s lots of memories.

“My first memory would be when I was 16, you know playing in that first game, (and) going out for that solo lap and being too scared to lift my feet off the ice because I was going to fall over,” recalled Jones.

“That’s kind of my first memory. But being on a team with guys — some guys for four years, some guys for three years — you create a lot of memories on and off the ice. It’s just something like going and getting  lunch with the guys, there’s always stories that come up. So I can’t pick one memory. I have way too many memories with those guys.”

Jones will squeeze some hockey left out of this season as he will finish out with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates, who are an affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I’m just  finishing the season out with them to kind of dip my toes in the professional hockey and you know just enjoy the week and see what it’s about,” he said.

“So that’s where I am right now, and then you know after this I’m going to go home, take a little bit of time off of hockey, go to the farm (and) do something and then I’ve got some big decisions to make on my future I guess.”