Hockey Draft Shatters Color Barrier
Portland’s
Seth Jones
part of changing
face of sport
P o rtlan d
W in terh aw k s
defenseman and Aloha High School
graduate Seth Jones received the
highest draft pick ever for African
Americans in pro hockey on Sun
day.
Jones, 18, was selected No. 4 by
the Nashville Predators of the Na
tional Hockey League. Leading up
to the draft there was speculation
that Jones would be the No. 1 pick.
While he did slip, he still made his
tory as being the first African-Ameri
can as a top-five choice.
Darnell Nurse, another black
player, went No. 7 to the Edmonton
Oilers. Jones and Nurse will be part of
the changing face of pro hockey where
94 percent of the players are white.
The son of former NBA player
Popeye Jones seemed happy in his
bright yellow Nashville jersey, and
Seth Jones, a defenseman for the Portland Winterhawks and an 18-year-old from Aloha High School,
pulls on a Nashville Predators sweater after being chosen 4th overall in the first round o f the NHL
hockey draft, Sunday, June 30, 2013, in Newark, N.J. (AP photo)
will be able to learn about playing
NHL defense from new teammate
Shea Weber.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t
thinking about going to those
teams, but at the same time I'm ex
cited to be a Predator, and obvi
ously Shea Weber is there," Seth
Jones said Sunday about slipping a
few spots.
Popeye Jones is friends with one
of the Predators scouts, and he said
he was told that his son wouldn't fall
past Nashville at No. 4.
Now Seth Jones has something
else to prove, beyond the usual
drive draft picks have to show that
they belong in the NHL.
"I think professional athletes or
athletes in general are always look
ing for something to motivate them
because there is always going to be
dog days where you may not want
to lift or do extra crunches," Popeye
Jones said. "But you will look at this
and say, 'I got drafted fourth. Maybe
I need to get to the weight room
again and try to prove guys wrong
that I should've went first.'
"You are also looking for that
extra motivation."
Popeye Jones, drafted by the
NBA's Houston Rockets in 1992
and traded to Dallas, knows what
NHL team he will be throwing his
support to.
"There is no disappointment in
going to Nashville. It is such a great
franchise," he said. "It is my home
state. I've got to get my Preds hat."
—The Associated Press contrib
uted to this report.
Blazers Buildfor
Future with Picks
Houston
Rockets
forward
Thomas
Robinson, the
No. 5 pick in
the 2 0 1 2
NBA draft,
has been
traded to the
Portland Trail
Blazers.
Team deals for
Robinson; chooses
McCollum in draft
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The Portland Trail Blazers traded
for 6 -foot-10 forw ard Thom as
Robinson just a few days after at
tempting to solidify their backcourt
when they selected 6-foot-4 guard
C.J. McCollum of Lehigh with the
10th pick in the NBA draft.
H ouston traded R obinson to
Portland Monday for two future
second round picks and the draft
rights to 6-9 Greek forward Kostas
Papanikolau and 6-10 Montenegro
forward M arko Todorovic. The
Rockets are trying to clear salary
C. J. McCollum
cap space in an effort to sign Dwight
Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Blazers were clearly thrilled
that McCollum was available at No.
10.
—The Associated Press contrib
uted to this report.