What the Blackhawks learned about Caleb Jones while brother Seth was injured

The Blackhawks gave Caleb Jones a break against the Boston Bruins.

And while it may have been beneficial for the whole team to have taken Nov. 19 off against Boston, as they lost 6-1 against the NHL's best team, Jones needed one most of all. He had been filling in on the first power play unit while his brother Seth dealt with a thumb injury, and he picked up some extra minutes overall.

And while his overall shifts per game had gone down a fraction, Caleb Jones rarely had a game where he played fewer than 16 minutes, being on the ice consistently for about 19 minutes per game.

But honestly, he struggled. Not that many players on this team are recording plus/minuses in the positive, but Jones didn't record a single game with a plus number, including a minus-5 in Nov. 16's 5-2 loss to the Blues.

But with his brother back on the ice now, Caleb Jones says he's feeling more comfortable.

"It's tough to lose a guy like that," Caleb said of Seth's injury, "that plays so many minutes and is so important, but obviously getting the opportunity to get on the power play is really big, and I want to take advantage of it and try to pick up the slack."

He got the opportunity, and the Blackhawks found out that maybe "top defenseman" wasn't a role he was supposed to play. But now the Hawks know not to put him there, and hopefully he's learned a few things about his own style of play.

He's among the smallest defenders on the team, but head coach Luke Richardson says Jones' best attribute is his skating ability.

"He's a good skater and that's his best skill," Richardson said. "Defensively, you can use that, as well. Putting a guy in an area, making him cut back and then being quick enough to go right through his hands. If it's a bigger guy, you're not going to go up and win that battle 1-on-1 physically, so learn how to slow that guy down and then use your quickness to get in through the hands and steal that puck and go on offense."

Caleb's also a good shooter. He's able to walk the blue line and get shots on net. Before Seth's injury, he was quarterbacking the second power play unit anyway, so moving up to the first line wasn't too much of a leap for him.

When he filled in, the power play unit produced 4 goals in 27 opportunities, which was fifth-worst in the league during that time.

Jones has 1 power play point, and one 5-on-5 assist in those nine games.

Still, it's hard to blame Jones for the miserable month of November that the Blackhawks have had.

"There were a couple hiccups where there was the one game he was on for a lot of goals," Richardson said. "The first two he really had nothing to do with, he just happened to be on the ice, and then the confidence gets shot down. But we put him in the next game and he skated, he played well, and that's a good sign of someone being able to handle a hard knock and get back on the horse and play."

It's hardly fair to call any of it his fault, but he had a rough nine games.

In the Nov. 14 game against Carolina, Jones sent a pass right to a Hurricanes player in front of the Hawks' own net. The play resulted in a goal - but sometimes, that just happens.

"It happens to great players," Richardson said. "It happens to everybody in 82 games. So be strong, realize it happens and be a little more aware when you're on the ice and don't let it happen again."

It was a tough stretch of games indeed, but with his brother is back on the top line, Caleb Jones once again has his space to continue to develop.

"My first year here," Richardson said, "seeing him minimally mostly back when he was with Edmonton, definitely his confidence in defending has been much better. I showed a clip today in at video ... but he asked me out on the ice (about it). He's feeling comfortable and more confident to come up and talk about situations that he can get better at defensively."