Jones enjoying his first trip to New York City

Seth Jones is a defenseman for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder has solid athletic bloodlines -- his father, Popeye Jones, played 11 seasons in the NBA. The top-ranked player in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft, Jones was named the best professional prospect in the WHL, and helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Championship. Jones has offered to maintain a monthly blog for NHL.com that will chronicle his season leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft.

NEW YORK -- Hello from the top of the Empire State Building!

I'm finally here in New York and I can't wait for the draft to get here. I got in Wednesday, and when I got to my hotel room, Nathan MacKinnon was there. We have the same agent, so I guess they decided to make us be roommates for the next few days.

We walked around Times Square and it was cool seeing all those people around the city. Then the two of us had dinner out at an Italian restaurant -- I can't remember the name, but the food was good.

It's my first time in New York City, and it's pretty cool. It's very hectic, very crowded. It looks just like the movies -- there's taxis everywhere, people honking horns. But there's also a lot of shopping, a lot of high-end places. It's cool to come here and definitely get this experience.

Today me, Nate, Jonathan Drouin and Darnell Nurse went to Yankee Stadium. We got a little tour of the stadium and saw about half the game. It was pretty cool there. They were playing the Texas Rangers, and that's where I'm from. But the Yankees were pretty nice to us, so I wasn't sure who to root for.

Then we came over here to the Empire State Building. You're pretty high up here, but there's great views all around.

I'm really excited for the next few days. We have a clinic Saturday, and skating with kids should be fun. It's good to get out and do a little work with the community.

But then comes Sunday and the draft. That's why we're here. My family is here, they came in today. I'll have dinner with them the next couple of nights and then we'll go from there.

Thanks for reading.

Follow Seth Jones on Twitter: @seth_jones 03