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Former Mitchell High player Nathan Smith taken in NHL draft by Jets

 
Team and league officials mingle on the floor of American Airlines Center at the NHL draft in Dallas. (Associated Press)
Team and league officials mingle on the floor of American Airlines Center at the NHL draft in Dallas. (Associated Press)
Published June 24, 2018

It's rare to see an NHL draft pick with Tampa Bay ties, but the Jets used a third-round pick Saturday on center Nathan Smith, 19, who played for Mitchell High School in Trinity and most recently for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.

Smith was dominant enough at Mitchell that he scored 41 goals and 45 assists in 15 games one season, averaging nearly a hat trick.

Smith will return to Cedar Rapids next season. He is a Minnesota State commitment.

"He's someone that in talking to our scouts is a late-bloomer type of player," Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told the team's website.