FEATURE: Seth Jones Leading the Way for Blackhawks On and Off the Ice

After being named an alternate captain before the season began, Seth Jones is beginning to not only make his impact on the ice but in the Blackhawks locker room as well.
A self-described softer-spoken member of the leadership group, a main goal of his this season was to work on becoming more vocal and speaking up in critical moments.
"I try to be a little more vocal this season throughout the lineup," Jones said. "I'm never going to be over-the-top vocal, but I'll be talking every time someone needs to say something, but I think there is a time and a place, and I've been trying to do a little bit more."

Head coach Luke Richardson knows Jones is not the loudest leader in the room, but when he does speak, it captures other players' attention, and they know the meaning it carries.
During games, the 6-foot-4 blueliner will speak up on the bench to bring the group together in the right moments, but it's on the ice and in his play where Jones make his loudest impact. For Richardson, those actions can often be more powerful than words.
"When you say something, it means something a little more when everybody knows that you're quiet," Richardson said. "He's just a lead by example guy, so I think playing his position and becoming a top defenseman for us is just as good as saying the right thing all the time verbally."
Richardson isn't the only one who has taken notice of Jones' growth within the Blackhawks roster, both on and off the ice. The NHL selected Jones to represent Chicago at this weekend's 2023 NHL All-Star Game in South Florida, the fifth nomination of his career.
Jones leads all Blackhawks blueliners in points heading into the All-Star break with 22 (4G, 18A) and also dominates in the time on ice category, averaging over 24 minutes per game this season. He's became a cruicial piece in the team's success both offensively and defensively that simply cannot be replaced
It's just another step in the evolution of the 28 year old as a leading face for the future of the Original Six franchise.
"So, it's just impressive what he can do and then how he's in it for the right reasons like him, [producing] the offense sometimes and power play and then also being out there to shut down [top lines]," Connor Murphy said. "It's kind of like the ultimate player to try to the team toward wins and want to take the team in the right direction."
Since 2013, Jones played under and worked with different types of veteran leaders like Shea Weber in Nashville, Nick Foligno in Columbus and now with Jonathan Toews. All three captains lead their teams with different approaches but all had one perspective in common that stuck with him -- lead by example.
"I've seen kind of different styles of leadership," Jones said. "All three styles are fantastic, but I think all three styles start with leading by example, when you can't preach something that you don't do, you don't practice it. That's something I've really taken away from all three of the great leaders I've played for."
The Blackhawks named Jones an alternate captain splitting duties with fellow defenseman Murphy and joining the core leadership group with Patrick Kane and Toews.
Since he first joined the organization in July 2021, Murphy has noticed Jones' growth as a leader by the way he wants to play hard defensively with the challenging matchups against some of the league's top lines and racking top playing minutes. He also notes the way he can lead offensively ranking fifth among the team's skaters in scoring production.
Not only does he strive to make a good example on the ice but also sets it off the ice by the way he interacts with his teammates.
"He just comes in professional and to ready to work and it shows up in his game," Murphy said. "Then off the ice, he gets along with everyone equally and wants to be a good teammate with every person. It shows an example for players like Ian [Mitchell] and younger [defensemen] coming in of the level that they want to get to his success at that all-star level and then everyone can strive to get to that."
After five young defensemen made their way in and out of the lineup due to callups and injuries, Jones tries to mentor different players going through the systems or those who are finding their style of play.
Caleb Jones knows his brother is not always the most vocal but sees the impact he makes on players who want to follow his lead -- not only by the way he plays but also how he trains. Some of the advice that Jones gives his younger brother centers around not only playing with consistency but having a system within his routine and off-ice habits.
"On the ice and off the ice, you kind of want to follow his lead because he plays hard, he takes care of his body off the ice," Caleb said. "And I think for the young guys coming up, when he will eventually step into that role, it'll be big for him."
With other younger players like Ian Mitchell and Isaak Phillips, Jones knows they will naturally pick up on different nuances and situations as they get more and more NHL games under their belts, but he still tries to give them a step up on the process with advice to continue to build their games.
"When Phillips was up, I've tried to give him pointers, [along with] my brother and Mitchell," Jones said. "We have a lot of good [defensemen] in our system. They're learning as they go, and experience is the best way to learn in the league. But there are little pointers, little tips here and there that you can give them."
For the veteran defenseman, sometimes it can be hard to speak up and be held accountable no matter who is speaking up. However, he believes a team works best not with just individual contributions, but as a collective group that have the mentality of if you see something that could help, you speak up to make the group stronger as a whole.
"Everyone needs to have a voice in the room," Jones said. "If you see something in the game, or you want to say something, you should have the voice to say that. It's never easy. For young guys, it's a lot harder and even for older guys, sometimes harder to say something. But I think that's when the team really comes together."
Whether during the game or in the dressing room, Jones hopes to use his voice to continue to grow as a strong and dependable leader for years to come.