Ex-Chief Kichton goes to Winnipeg

NEWARK, N.J. - Former Spokane Chief captain Brenden Kichton was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the 7th round in Sunday's NHL Draft.

Kichton was named the WHL's Defenseman of the Year this past season, his fifth and final in Spokane, after leading all defensemen in scoring with 22 goals, 63 assists and 85 points.

Kichton was named a WHL Western Conference post-season all-star the last two seasons. His 201 career assists in 333 career games are both second all-time in franchise history and he is the organization's all-time leader in scoring as a defensemen with 268 points.

Kichton was originally selected by the New York Islanders in the fifth round in 2011 but failed to come to terms and re-entered this year's draft.

Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks was the first WHL player selected, as the Nashville Predators chose the 18-year-old with the fourth overall selection.

The 6-foot-4, 206-pound defenseman from Plano, Texas, just completed his first season in the WHL with the Winterhawks, scoring 14 goals and added 42 assists for 56 points to go with a +46 rating in 61 games to help lead the Winterhawks to their best regular season record in franchise history. He added another five goals and 15 points in 21 playoff games as the Winterhawks captured the 2013 WHL championship.

Jones is the son of former NBA forward Popeye Jones.

The Colorado Avalanche selected center Nathan MacKinnon with the first pick. He was the first player drafted No. 1 overall out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sidney Crosby in 2005.

The Florida Panthers made center Aleksander Barkov, the top-ranked European skater, the second overall pick.

Tampa Bay took forward Jonathan Drouin with the third overall pick.