Jones 'healthy and ready' for Oilers after positive COVID-19 test

EDMONTON -- Caleb Jones tested positive for COVID-19 and had to self-isolate for two weeks prior to joining the Edmonton Oilers at training camp, he said Friday.

The defenseman tested positive after arriving in Edmonton from his Dallas home three weeks ago. He participated with the main group for the first time Friday after skating alone through the first three practice days of camp, which began Monday.

"I came into Edmonton early and I was going to do my seven days of isolation, and I had a positive test for COVID," Jones said. "I had no symptoms, I was asymptomatic, and I did my two-week isolation and stayed away from everyone."

Jones was on the ice with a handful of teammates Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after the main group completed its session but skated on his own at one end of the arena. The Oilers, who are preparing to play the Chicago Blackhawks in a Stanley Cup Qualifier series, were off Thursday.

"I tried to do my best to stay active and stay fit [in isolation], but it's tough when you go 14 days off the ice," the 23-year-old said. "So that's kind of why I took Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and really tried to hammer hard by myself away from the group."

Jones, the brother of 25-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, scored nine points (four goals, five assists) in 43 games prior to the NHL season being paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

"We'll see if he takes part in [the] scrimmage tomorrow," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "I'm not sure he's going to go that far yet, but it's good to have him back. He had no symptoms, he tested positive without any symptoms at all, so he's coming back feeling healthy and ready to go."

Edmonton (37-25-9, .585 points percentage) enters the Qualifiers as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference; Chicago (32-30-8, .514) is the No. 12 seed. The winner of their best-of-5 series will advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the loser will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, to be held Aug. 10. The Qualifers begin Aug. 1, when the Oilers and Blackhawks will play Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city for the 12 participating Western teams.

Jones is one of 10 defensemen in camp. His workload may increase after veteran Mike Green opted out of the NHL Return to Play plan, citing family health reasons.

"It's obviously a very weird disease, it's a weird time in the world right now," said Jones, who is in his second NHL season. "Some people get really affected by it and it can be deadly, and other people you would never know they had it. I was lucky enough to be in that group that if I'd never gotten tested, I would have never realized I had it."