Zac Jones
American ice hockey player (born 2000)
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Zachary Jones (born October 18, 2000) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jones was drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round, 68th overall, of the 2019 NHL entry draft.[1]
| Zac Jones | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jones with the Hartford Wolf Pack in 2023 | |||
| Born |
October 18, 2000 Glen Allen, Virginia, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Buffalo Sabres Rochester Americans (AHL) New York Rangers | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft |
68th overall, 2019 New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Playing career
Jones was drafted 68th overall by the New York Rangers at the 2019 NHL entry draft.[2][3] He won an NCAA championship with the UMass Minutemen in 2020–21 prior to signing a professional contract with the Rangers on April 13, 2021.[4][5] Jones made his NHL debut for the Rangers on April 22, in a 3–2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers.[5][6] With his NHL debut Jones became the sixth Virginian to play in the NHL, and the first player from Richmond, Virginia, to be drafted and play in the NHL.[7] Jones recorded his first NHL point with an assist on a goal by Kaapo Kakko in his third NHL game on April 25, against the Buffalo Sabres.[8]
Jones spent most of the 2021–22 season with the Rangers' American Hockey League (AHL), the Hartford Wolf Pack, although he played 12 games for the Rangers. According to Hartford assistant coach Casey Torres, "He was awesome, I thought he was our best player for the entirety of the season. He was so dynamic. He created offense from high and low probability situations. He competed hard. Such great vision on the ice and just a real dynamic presence for us offensively on the back end."[9] On June 16, 2023, Jones signed a two-year contract extension with the Rangers.[10]
Released as a free agent after not being tendered a qualifying offer by the New York Rangers, Jones was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Buffalo Sabres for the 2025–26 season on July 1, 2025.[11]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Selects Academy | USPHL | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Tri-City Storm | USHL | 56 | 7 | 45 | 52 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | UMass-Amherst | HE | 32 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | UMass-Amherst | HE | 29 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | New York Rangers | NHL | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 52 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | New York Rangers | NHL | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 54 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2022–23 | New York Rangers | NHL | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | New York Rangers | NHL | 31 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | New York Rangers | NHL | 46 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 115 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing the United States | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 2021 Latvia | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | United States | WJAC |  |
6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2020 | United States | WJC | 6th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | United States | WC |  |
10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| All-Rookie Team | 2019 | |
| Rookie of the Year | 2019 | |
| Second All-Star Team | 2019 | |
| College | ||
| Hockey East All-Rookie Team | 2019–20 | [12] |
| All-Hockey East Second Team | 2020–21 | [13] |
| AHCA East Second Team All-American | 2020–21 | [14] |
| Hockey East All-Tournament Team | 2021 | [15] |
| NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2021 | [16] |