NEWARK, N.J. — They found each other underneath the stands of the hockey/basketball arena. Seth Jones, the son, the NHL draft pick, waded through the crowd in his new hat and jersey. Popeye Jones, the father, the former NBA player, waited in his dark suit.

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“What’s up?” the son said, a blank look on his face.

The father hugged his son, patting the logo on the jersey. Both smiled. Both talked. Then the father put his arm around his son and led him down the hall for a private word, ahead of the TV cameras trailing them, away from the hype and hubbub.

No, Seth Jones did not go to the Colorado Avalanche, did not become the first black player drafted No. 1 overall, did not become the first American to go first since 2007, the fairytale scenario. He did not go to the Florida Panthers second overall or the Tampa Bay Lightning third overall, either.

NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked North American skater – a 6-foot-4, puck-moving defenseman – slipped to the Nashville Predators fourth overall.

It was a draft-day shocker, along with the trade of Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils, making Roberto Luongo the Vancouver Canucks’ No. 1 goalie again, and the trade of Dave Bolland to the Toronto Maple Leafs, dumping the guy who scored the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup winner less than a week earlier.



[Related: Avs select Nathan MacKinnon with No. 1 overall pick]





“I know how competitive he is,” said Popeye Jones, now an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets. “He’s kind of like me. He probably wanted to go [No. 1]. But hey, it didn’t work. It’s fine.”

The thing is, it might turn out to be much more than fine. It might turn out to be a perfect fit.

Seth Jones is joining a franchise run by David Poile, the general manager of the U.S. Olympic hockey team. He is joining a franchise that usually makes the playoffs and struggled this season after losing free agent Ryan Suter – the player he will essentially replace. He is joining a franchise that has an elite defenseman in Shea Weber, from whom he can learn and with whom he might partner. He is joining a franchise that hired assistant coach Phil Housley, a former NHL defenseman and Jones’ head coach when Team USA won gold at world juniors.

He is going to Nashville, about 2-1/2 hours from Dresden, Tenn., where his father grew up, his father still owns a house and his grandmother still lives. He is going to Music City.

“I love country, to be honest,” he said. “I listen to it a lot.”

This is no sad song.

“Yeah, well, I’m competitive,” he said when asked if he had something to prove to Colorado, Florida and Tampa Bay. “I have a competitive nature. I get that from my parents. You definitely want to prove them wrong, and you definitely want to show them why they should have picked you. That’s not my only goal next year, but it’s definitely on my list.”

Seth Jones seemed destined for Denver. He fell in love with hockey there while his father played for the Nuggets, skating for the first time on a pond, jumping into street games on a suburban cul-de-sac, attending Game 7 of the 2001 final when the Avalanche beat the Devils to win the Cup.

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