Plymouth Whalers Sign Defenseman Mitch Jones

The Plymouth Whalers have a long history of signing players from within the Compuware Youth Hockey program. Today, the Whalers added another player to the list.

Plymouth Whalers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci announced the signing of 16-year-old defenseman Mitch Jones. Jones - who was playing this season for the Compuware Under-18 team in the High Performance Hockey League - was originally selected by the Whalers in the 11th round (213th overall) of the 2011 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

Jones played last season for the Detroit Honeybaked U-16's, where he scored two goals for five assists for seven points in 33 games. He played from 2007-09 with Belle Tire, scoring 24 goals with 11 assists for 35 points in 59 games.

Jones and his parents (Brad and Mary) attended the Whalers Rookie Orientation last spring.  

Mitch's father, Brad, played hockey at the University of Michigan from 1983-87 and was selected in the eighth round (156th overall) in the 1984 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.  He also played in the NHL with Los Angeles and Philadelphia (data courtesy of Hockey-reference.com).

Jones - who will wear number six - is expected to make his Plymouth debut this weekend when the Whalers play in Oshawa on Friday 7:25pm, 88.1FM WSDP) and Belleville on Saturday (7pm, 88.1FM WSDP).  Plymouth's next home game is Wed. Dec. 28 at 2pm against the top-rated London Knights in the Whalers annual Kid's Day game.

TOM WILSON SELECTED FOR 2012 HOME HARDWARE CHL/NHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME:  Plymouth right wing Tom Wilson has been selected to play in the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which will be held Feb. 1, 2012 in Kelowna, BC.

“The Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game showcases 40 of the league’s top prospects eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft,” said CHL President David Branch.  “Congratulations to all 40 players selected for this event representing the next wave of talent to the NHL, with the opportunity to showcase their skills before hundreds of NHL scouts in attendance and for fans in Kelowna and CHL fans watching live across Canada on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.”

See the rest of the release.

WHALERS REMAIN FIFTH IN CHL TOP 10 RANKINGS:  Plymouth remains in fifth place in the weekly BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings.

Here are the teams:

1 - London Knights (24-6-0-1)

2- Tri-City Americans (25-7-0-0)

3 - Quebec Remparts (26-6-2-1)

4 -Saint John Sea Dogs (26-10-0-1)

5 - Plymouth Whalers (21-8-2-1)

6 - Shawinigan Cataractes (23-9-2-2)

7 - Kamloops Blazers (23-9-1-0)

8 - Edmonton Oil Kings (22-8-1-2)

9 - Kitchener Rangers (21-9-1-0)

10 - Halifax Mooseheads (21-9-1-2)

Honourable Mention:

Moose Jaw Warriors (20-9-3-1)

Ottawa 67's (18-9-3-1)

Victoriaville Tigres (21-11-0-2)