NASHVILLE – It is only two weeks after the NHL Draft and training camp is still two months away, but Music City has a new rock star – and he hasn’t even been in Nashville for a week, hasn’t even stepped onto the ice at Bridgestone Arena.
The rock star is Nashville’s first-round pick from last month, Seth Jones. He has easily garnered the most attention any Predators draft pick has ever seen. His autograph is in high demand among Predators fans attending this week’s development camp at the team’s practice facility. His presence is in high demand from the local media, who has come out in droves to hear what the teenager has to say next.
Some players may decide to go to a smaller-market team to escape the bright lights of a big city. It’s been a different story for Jones. The spotlight has followed him to the place they like to call Smashville. From the World Juniors to the Memorial Cup to the draft, and carrying lofty expectations along the way, that spotlight has followed his every footstep this year.
With all the attention that has surrounded Jones this year, you would expect him to be accustomed to it all – and he most definitely is. At the same time, you have to remind yourself that the kid is only 18 years old and has never played a shift in the NHL, which makes his laid-back demeanor all the more impressive.
“He was playing a long time, playing in Russia (World Juniors), coming back and playing in the Memorial Cup – that’s a lot to put on a young man’s plate, and the media attention that comes along with it,” said Predators assistant coach Phil Housley, who was the head coach of the U.S. World Juniors gold medal-winning team that featured Nashville’s new star.
“His maturity, you can see it. He’s just a very laid back [person]; very calm, has that calming influence.”
Jones’ father, Popeye Jones, is a former NBA player. That background has helped Jones over the years learn how to be a pro and become accustomed to the mass amounts of attention. But Popeye isn’t the only one who has helped Jones along the way.
“My mom has done a great job over the years of really teaching me how to talk to the media. She didn’t do it herself, obviously; my dad did,” Jones said. “She was always there, knew right from wrong.”
The spotlight was on Jones at an early age. His first big interview came back in 2009 with Sports Illustrated. Jones was 14 years old but had been compared to Nicklas Lidstrom in the story. Since then, the Texas native has played his hockey under a microscope.
“I was like ‘Gosh, he’s 14,’” Popeye said of the Sports Illustrated interview. “My advice to him was when people come to watch you in the rink now, the first person they’ll be looking for is Seth Jones to see where he’s at. You always have to bring your A-game when you play and he’s handled it well since he was 14 and I expect him to handle the NHL spotlight well, too.”
When teenage hockey players get drafted, they are usually too giddy to wipe the smile off their faces. They’re 18 years old. It’s the best moment of their lives. Their dreams just became reality.
Jones, though, wasn’t the overly giddy teenager when he met with the media after being selected fourth overall by the Predators on June 30. He at least didn’t come across that way. He had the look of an exhausted veteran who just finished playing a game, as the stressful draft process was finally over. He was admittedly disappointed by dropping in the draft after being touted as the top prospect. And he had to answer many of the same questions he had heard in the days/weeks leading up to the draft.
But Jones handled it all like a pro, like he had been there before.
The spotlight should shrink over time. Once the likes of Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne arrive for training camp, and once the season finally gets under way, Jones won’t have all the cameras pointed at him. On a personal level, it will only take a matter of time before his world stops spinning 100 miles per hour.
At the same time, many eyeballs will be watching Jones as he starts writing the next chapter to his decorated young career. He was the top-rated prospect heading into the draft, which will naturally garner interest on a national level during his rookie campaign. And if he blossoms into the defenseman many believe he’s capable of becoming, he’ll be a household name league-wide.
When the time comes for the lights to brighten, though, it will all be a piece of cake for the baby-faced rock star.
“I know how to handle it,” Jones said of the media attention. “I’m obviously getting pretty used to it by now.”
