Jones to Captain Team USA at Worlds

Jones, 27, appeared in the World Championship twice while he was a member of the Nashville Predators (2014 and 2015) and posted 15 points in 18 games over those two tournaments, including a bronze medal in 2015.

A four-time NHL all-star, Jones will lead a defense core that has five defenders aged 24 or under, including Caleb Jones, Seth's brother. Jones, the team's captain, will serve as a mentor for a team that has speed and potential, but a lot less experience than most other teams.

He ended his first season in Chicago with 51 points, the second-highest mark in his career. He eclipsed his career high in blocks by a wide margin with 155 (previous high was 133) and recorded 99 hits (3rd highest career total). This was all in the midst of a fairly disappointing year.

Many people think the Hawks paid too much for his services, but he was worth pursuing. Jones is going to be "the guy" of the future (at least on defense). In a rebuild, having a confident, talented, veteran voice present will be key in helping young players succeed.

Jones, now with the role of captain, will begin to experience just the extent of the impact he can have on a team. Of course this will look different. This is not the Blackhawks. It's a roster of only US players. However, one great similarity is there: Team USA is full of young, raw players who need leadership and guidance. He will finally be able to get that experience that will be critical to his role on the Blackhawks moving forward.

Winnipeg's Nate Schmidt and Ottawa's Austin Watson are the alternate captains.

Team USA starts its tournament run Friday against Latvia at 8:20 a.m. CT. All U.S. games in the tournament will air live on NHL Network.

Hawk defenseman Erik Gustafsson will also be participating in the Worlds as part of Team Sweden.

Hawks forward Philip Kurashev will be playing for Team Switzerland as well.