Former Viper Twins Share Competitive Edge:

Former Vernon Vipers forwards, Connor & Kellen Jones played four seasons in Vernon (2006-10) both are now in their first season at Quinnipiac University.

This was in Thursdays New England Hockey Journal:

December 23, 2010

Quinnipiac twins share competitive edge

Freshman Jones brothers hate to lose, especially against each other

by Phil Perry

Quinnipiac's Connor Jones plays on the same line as twin brother Kellen.
Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the December 2010 issue of New England Hockey Journal.

It was Quinnipiac’s season opener. The team was at home, up against CCHA power Ohio State in front of 3,000 hockey-starved fans. It was a big moment for freshman forward Kellen Jones.

It was his first collegiate game, and he felt like he belonged after nearly scoring his first goal on a shot that was impressively stopped by the Buckeyes goaltender.

Not everyone appreciated Jones’ effort, however. There was a familiar voice in his ear when he made his way back to the bench. It was his identical twin brother, Connor.

“I was open,” argued Connor, also a freshman forward and Kellen’s linemate. “I was right behind you. You could have given me a spin-around backhand pass.”

Kellen couldn’t believe his ears.

“You want me to do a spin-around backhand pass in our first game?” he asked, annoyed. “Don’t you think that’s a little risky?”

At the time, it was just the latest in a long line of typical brotherly interactions on the ice between the Jones twins. The two have played together since they were 2 years old, hitting tennis balls in their Montrose, British Columbia, driveway. They have always expected perfection from one another ever since.

They both notched an assist in that first game and, early in their collegiate careers, they’ve exceeded expectations. Through 10 games, Connor was tied for the team lead in goals (three) and points (seven). Kellen also had three goals, along with three assists for six points.

It’s been a nice infusion for a team that graduated its top three scorers from a year ago. Through 10 games, the Bobcats were 5-4-1.

“They’re ultra-competitive in everything they do,” said Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold (Bedford, N.H.). “It’s probably why they are where they are right now. They compete in every practice and every game. It’s something you can’t teach.”

That competitive fire was developed in the Joneses’ small southwest Canadian town, just north of the Washington state border, where hockey was in their blood. The twins’ dad, Terry, played for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL and then moved on to play in Germany, while their grandfather, Terry Jones Sr., was drafted in 1963 and played for the New Haven Blades, the former AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers.

In roller blades, the boys worked one-on-one at a local tennis court to improve their game, but as they grew up, their familial faceoffs weren’t limited to the sport of hockey. Whether it was basketball, Wiffle ball or swimming in their grandfather’s pool, everything was a competition.

“Basketball against him usually ended in a fight,” Connor said. “It would be tied near the end and someone would call a foul — and, of course, there was no real foul — and then the other guy would lose and get angry. Someone usually ended up getting chased around the block after those games.”

Even now, as they take on the new challenges of college life, the brothers and roommates in Quinnipiac’s Irma Hall are as competitive as ever.

“We always want to see who can do better on an assignment or who’s got the better essay,” Kellen said. “We want to see who can find the best song when we’re looking for music. We want to see who can get the most goals in practice.

“People probably say, ‘Jeez, these kids are crazy.’ But we’re always trying to compete, trying to make each other better.”

Both brothers shoot left-handed. Both are listed at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, and both have an on-ice motor that allows them to play bigger than their size. If you don’t live with them to know that Kellen is a bit more studious and Connor is a bit tidier, it would be tough to tell them apart. Their coach for the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, Mark Ferner, simply called both “Jonesy” to escape confusion.

But to assume that the pair might want to split up and carve out his own identity would be a mistake. As often as they push each other’s buttons, they consider one another best friends and hope to play together for as long as possible.

The years of chemistry they have built up allows them to play with what some might mistake as pure twin intuition.

“I wish,” Connor said with a laugh. “Communication-wise, we’ve just played together for so long, we know each other’s tendencies.”

It was a pleasant surprise when Kellen was drafted in the seventh round of the 2010 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers, but Connor went undrafted, and it made the brothers realize they could one day play in different cities.

“I was kind of worried,” Kellen said. “I was hoping he doesn’t get drafted by another team so that maybe there would be a chance we could still play together.

“Connor played in more games (in juniors), had more goals, more points. I was thinking, ‘If I got drafted, how did Connor not? He’s way better than me.’ But he was happy for me, and I would have been the same way.”

The brothers didn’t have to wait long to find out that their paths would soon be hooked up once again. The Oilers, who expected Connor to be drafted elsewhere, invited both players to their development camp last June before they’d go to Quinnipiac to make their anticipated arrival.

“They’ve definitely come in as advertised,” Pecknold said. “We expected them to be top-six forwards. We expected them to play a lot out of the gate and play well.”

Without a doubt, both Jones brothers expect to continue to produce. And, as their careers progress, they know there will always be a familiar voice pushing them along the way.

“We want each other to make plays others wouldn’t expect,” Connor explained. “We expect each other to be perfect out there.”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kellen insisted.

Phil Perry can be reached at feedback@hockeyjournal.com