Some rookies fear the dreaded sophomore slump. That’s not quite the case for Seth Jones. Joining the Nashville Predators as the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, Jones performed fairly well in 2013-14, but was lost in the shuffle behind other rookies around the league such as Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon.
What’s expected of the defenseman heading into 2014-15? General Manager David Poile is expecting the youngster to improve on his rookie campaign and improve in just about every area.
Here are Poile’s comments, as seen on NHL.com, regarding Jones:
“For 19 years old I’m not sure what you’re supposed to expect, but he did a lot of really good things. I know he had some bumps in the road. I think his plus/minus (minus-23), you’d like to be better, but he went over to the [2014 IIHF] World Championship and played really well; best defenseman in the tournament. He’s been working out all summer. I’m expecting real good things. Just a little bit better in every area.”
Is Poile setting the bar a bit too high?
Though Jones had a mixed 2013-14, it was mostly because the bar was set so high and expectations may have been out of reach for his first season. He certainly has room to improve, but it may be a bit optimistic to expect Jones to improve in just about every area. Keep in mind that defenseman tend to develop a bit more slowly in the NHL, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jones only post marginal gains.
