Ready for the Combine

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.

Hi everyone!

I arrived in Toronto early Wednesday morning and had nine interviews today. It was a long day.

I've been asked a lot about my experience in the Memorial Cup tournament. It was cool to play against the best teams from all the leagues. You don't normally get to play against them so it's good experience and there are so many great players -- they have all different styles and that's what makes it cool. Halifax deserved that win in the end; they played outstanding hockey in the tournament final.

It was definitely hard to get adjusted to it. You watch video before the game, but only to a certain extent. You just have to do the best you can and play your game. I thought we did a good job, but it's just too bad we didn't win [against Halifax in the Memorial Cup final].

I had my interview with the Colorado Avalanche today. There were some tough interviews and some trick questions but there was also a lot of straightforward stuff about the family and what kind of person I am … those sort of things. They asked about my season, my strengths and weaknesses, and areas of my game that I could work on.

As far as the fitness tests go, I'm just going to see what happens when I get there [on Friday]. I didn't really prepare for anything in particular, since it's been so busy. But I'm going to try to have fun with it and enjoy it as much as possible. It'll be a cool experience.

My roommate here in Toronto is my teammate in Portland, Nicolas Petan. This is something new for the two of us. During the Western Hockey League playoffs, I roomed with Adam De Champlain and during the regular season, they mix it up.

Of course, I'm looking forward to draft day in New Jersey [on June 30 at Prudential Center]. I'll be joined there by my mother, father, two brothers and my grandparents. I'm pretty sure that's it.

Thanks for reading. Check back later in the week.

Follow Seth Jones on Twitter at: @seth_jones3