There was no draft party for Jonathan Paiement on Sunday, and there was no bus ride to Carolina, either.

There was, however, jubilation in the Paiement household just before noon, during the second half of the NHL Draft.

“I got a phone call right away, as soon as my name showed up on the list,” Paiement said from his home on Sunday night. “They called me right away, I was very excited.”

With the the 247th overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Rangers selected the Lewiston Maineiacs’ leading defensemen with their 12th pick of the draft, ending two long days of anticipation.

“I was very happy to be drafted,” Paiement said. “When I saw (Picard) drafted yesterday, I was very happy for him, and I started to get a little nervous. Now I am just happy.”

According to Paiement, the team has arranged for him to fly to New York later this week. It will be his first trip ever to New York City.

“I will be going down for a couple of days this week,” Paiement said. “After that, I will be going to Calgary for training camp for three weeks in August.”

Staying in shape has been a top priority for Paiement this summer, and he has spent several days a week training for next season.

Last year with the Maineiacs, Paiement led all defensemen in points with 65, and was second in the league only to Victoriaville’s Mario Scalzo, Jr., who had 68. He was also named to the QMJHL All-Star team and tied for seventh overall in the league with 52 assists.

Draft Notes: Robert Bellamy, an incoming freshman at the University of Maine, was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 92nd overall pick of the draft…Mike Lundin, who will be a sophomore defenseman next season at Maine, was drafted by Tampa Bay in the fourth round, No. 102 overall…In all, 27 players from the QMJHL were drafted over two days, which is the second-best draft for the league since 1998. Last year, the NHL drafted 38 QMJHL players, up from 26 the year before. Since 1970, 818 players have been drafted out of the QMJHL, representing more than 10 percent of all players drafted…Last year, Richard Stehlik was the only player drafted from the Sherbrooke franchise.