Likely top pick Jones signs CCM equipment deal

MONTREAL (AP) — With the NHL draft weeks away, projected No. 1 pick Seth Jones already has a new team.

Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin have signed deals to wear CCM equipment. They are widely considered by most scouting services as the top three prospects available for the NHL draft on June 30.

Each player will wear CCM’s premium equipment as part of the deal, including the RBZ skate and RBZ Stage 2 stick set to launch July 19th.

The Colorado Avalanche have the No. 1 pick and are focused on Jones. The 6-foot-4 defenseman met with members of the Avalanche scouting team on Wednesday. He was spending the rest of the week at the NHL draft combine in Toronto.

The Florida Panthers hold the second draft pick and the Tampa Bay Lightning are No. 3.

Drouin, Jones and MacKinnon join Reebok-CCM’s endorsees that already include Gabriel Landeskog, John Tavares, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.