After playing the first four games of the season, the New York Rangers made Zac Jones a healthy scratch for the next three matchups.
For Jones this is unfortunately a familiar situation as he was a healthy scratch for large portions of last season.
However, the 24-year-old was back in the lineup on Saturday night and is not letting these recent scratches discourage him.
“Nobody’s happy when they get scratched,” Jones said about his limited playing time. “That’s for sure, you can ask anybody in this locker room. It is what it is, it’s a business decision. I just took it for what it was and kind of use it as a reset almost and try not to think of it like I’m the odd man out. Take a reset, take a break, clear your head a little bit and whenever I get that next opportunity, take advantage of it.”
With Chad Ruhwedel placed on waivers by the Rangers, it seems Jones will be swapping in and out of the lineup with rookie defenseman Victor Mancini.
With the experience he had last season not seeing the ice as much as he would have liked, Jones feels he’s in a better mental state to handle these sorts of situations.
“That was the hardest thing about the past couple of years, just learning how to handle being scratched and handle not being in the lineup every night, so kind of learned over the past couple of years how to handle it,” Jones said. “It’s been an easier process for sure.
The young defenseman had a really strong training camp, with his speed and sneaky offensive skills showing out the most.
It’s now about putting all the tools together and transforming into a more complete and two-way defenseman.
Jones will get his opportunity to prove that he is an everyday NHL player and it’s clear he still has the potential to be an impactful part to this Rangers team.
