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Oshawa Generals name Bob Jones coach, with D.J. Smith off to Leafs

Bob Jones guided the Spitfires in 2010-11 (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)
Bob Jones guided the Spitfires in 2010-11 (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

Going to the Windsor well worked once, which means why not try it again.

As anticipated, the Memorial Cup-winning Oshawa Generals hired Bob Jones to replace his former bench ally D.J. Smith, meaning the OHL club went all of a week without a head coach. It's a sensible hiring; going with a veteran coach that should be well apprised on the personnel around the league makes sense for a team that is going to be at the bottom of a building cycle after the exodus of so many older players from the championship team. Jones and assistant coach Eric Wellwood, like Smith, were also part of the back-to-back Spitfires Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and '10.

Jones also has some experience with guiding a team that was trying to avoid a post-Memorial Cup letdown. In 2010-11, he piloted the Spitfires after Bob Boughner moved up to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and managed to take a team with remnants of its championship nucleus and a lot of new faces to the Western Conference final.

The Generals, from a major junior hockey aficionado's standpoint, will be intriguing to follow next season. Not every league finalist can regenerate like the London Knights always seem to. Oshawa had 12 players in the 19-year-old and overage brackets, which I believe might be the most on any league finalist since the 2010 Barrie Colts had 13. The following season, the Colts finished last and won the Aaron Ekblad derby, then quickly bounced back and came within a pinged crossbar in Game 7 of winning the 2013 OHL final.

That isn't to say Oshawa is due to plunge quite that far next season, since rosters are in absolute flux, but it is going to be a different team. One can also foresee Michael Dal Colle, if the New York Islanders send him back for his age-19 season, being traded to a contender. From the sounds of it, though, Jones is bent on having a team that will stay in the playoff picture, and probably be a tough out in the playoffs.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.