The Coachella Valley Firebirds Thursday announced the re-signing of defenseman Ryan Jones, who was scoreless in five games with the American Hockey League team in the 2023-24 season.
The 28-year-old spent the bulk of the season with the Kansas City Mavericks, the ECHL affiliate of the Firebirds’ NHL parent team, the Seattle Kraken, where he had four goals and 21 assists in 53 regular-season games and one goal and six assists in 20 playoff games as the Mavericks advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals.
Jones was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL draft, the 121st overall selection, after scoring seven goals and assisting on 36 others in 120 games over two seasons with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League.
The Crown Point, Indiana native then played four seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, scoring four goals and assisting on 36 others in 141 games.
Jones began his professional career in the 2020-21 season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, then played the next two seasons with the league’s Syracuse Crunch. He has eight goals and 26 assists in 171 AHL games.