St. Louis forward Jones signs NAHL tender
April 10, 2018
The St. Louis Jr. Blues, proud members of the NA3HL, are pleased to announce that forward Dante Jones has signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) tender agreement with the Bismarck Bobcats of the NAHL’s Central Division.
Tendered by the Jr. Blues after a successful career in Canadian AAA hockey, the 6’0/163 lbs. native of Toronto, Ontario, developed into a major factor in St. Louis’ run to the NA3HL Fraser Cup Final.
In 45 games, the 18-year-old scored 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points, and finished the year with a +51 rating. He was selected to play for the Orange team at the 2018 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament, where he recorded one assist in three games. During playoffs, he suited up in all seven Jr. Blues games, where he twice found the back of the net and added three assists.
“Dante’s easily one of the hardest-working individuals I’ve had the pleasure to coach,” said Jr. Blues head coach Chris Flaugher. “He’s got a lot of speed, is strong when in possession of the puck, and is equally as comfortable in his own zone as he is in the offensive zone. We’re confident that Bismarck is getting a great player for next season, and couldn’t be happier to see Dante succeed.”
Jones is the third Jr. Blues player to sign a NAHL tender for 2018-19, joining Bud Winter (Corpus Christi) and Mark Capkovic (Shreveport).
A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted ten (10) tenders, which include one tender exclusively used on players from the NA3HL - plus or minus any trades - which became active on Nov. 1. Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft, which will be held on June 5, 2018.
