E. Palestine native taken by NYR in NHL draft

Staff/wire report

ST. PAUL, MINN.

The New York Rangers went with Jonathan (J.T.) Miller, a forward from the U.S. National Development program with the No. 15 pick in the NHL draft on Friday night.

Miller, an 18-year-old left wing from East Palestine, was the 23rd-ranked skater among North American players in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings. He had 11 goals and 26 assists in 48 games with the U.S. under-18 team, and led the American squad with four goals and nine assists in six games at this year’s World Under-18 Championship.

His dream of reaching the NHL will be put on hold for at least a little while as Miller has committed to play at the University of North Dakota next season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins took Joseph Morrow, a defenseman from Sherwood Park, Alberta, with the 23rd pick.

Morrow played the 2010-11 season with Portland of the Western Hockey League, ranking second among defensemen with 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists) in the playoffs.

Morrow’s father, Dave, was drafted by Vancouver in 1977 and his brother Josh, was selected by Nashville in 2002. Neither played in the NHL, though.

With the 11th overall pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets took defenseman Duncan Siemans, who played for Saskatoon of the WHL.

Like Morrow, Siemens is from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Last season he scored 43 points and helped Saskatoon to a first-place finish in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the No. 1 pick of the draft, selected by the Edmonton Oilers.

Nugent-Hopkins was the first to go Friday night, starting a run of pivots with six of the first eight selections. Then came the defensemen, with six being chosen in the top 14. After that came a couple of eyebrow-raising trades.

Nugent-Hopkins, the first WHL player to be drafted first since 1996, has been raising eyebrows at the junior level for a while. The Oilers, slotted first overall for the second straight year, selected the slick passer from the Red Deer Rebels. The 18-year-old center led the WHL last season with 75 assists.

Nugent-Hopkins said he’s heard general manager Steve Tambellini is in “no rush” to bring him to Edmonton.

“If I do go back to junior, I won’t be disappointed at all,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “It’ll be a great opportunity for us as Red Deer as a team to hopefully get to the Memorial Cup. Personally, it’ll be a good development year for me, too. But my goal right now is to make the Oilers.”

The remaining rounds, two through seven, will take place today.

The home fans will return happy, after the Minnesota Wild drew roars from the crowd following the announcement of their big deal with the San Jose Sharks. The Wild sent All-Star defenseman Brent Burns and their 2012 second-round pick to the Sharks, and they received a pair of forwards Devin Setoguchi, a former 30-goal scorer, and Charlie Coyle, a first-round pick last year; plus another first-round pick this year, 28th overall.

Setoguchi had just agreed to a three-year, $9 million-deal on Thursday.

Chicago then dealt right wing Troy Brouwer to the Washington Capitals for the 26th overall selection, giving the Blackhawks a pair of first-rounders.

Left wing Gabriel Landeskog of Sweden went second overall to the Colorado Avalanche. He had 36 goals in 53 games last season for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

Jonathan Huberdeau, a center from Quebec, was taken third by the Florida Panthers. Huberdeau was the MVP of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.