Recent assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators, Bob Jones, has passed away at the age of 54 due to complications from ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease (X Link). In his only coaching role within the NHL, Jones spent the last five years serving on the bench for the Senators.
Jones first made a name for himself as an assistant coach in the Ontario Hockey League. Starting his work as a coach for the Soo Greyhounds in 1995-96, Jones would spend four years in the Soo before moving on to the Brampton Battalion for the 1999-00 OHL season.
He was elevated to the role of associate coach with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors for three years between 2000-03 and helped the team win the Central Division in 2001-02. Jones moved on to the Sudbury Wolves for another brief three-year stretch until landing with the Windsor Spitfires in 2007-08. The long-time OHL coach helped elevate the Spitfires to Memorial Cup Champions in 2009 and 2010 while also working with the number one overall selection of the 2010 NHL Draft, Taylor Hall.
After nearly two decades working as an assistant and associate coach at the OHL level, the Oshawa Generals brought in Jones to serve as the team’s head coach in 2015-16. Unfortunately, the Generals never advanced past the semi-finals during Jones’s tenure and the team moved on from his services after the 2017-18 OHL season. Jones spent one year as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Texas Stars before joining the Senators organization.
Jones is survived by his wife Paula and his two children, Blake and Brianna. PHR sends our condolences to the Jones family.