Sitting in a classroom, Joel Sexsmith found out he was selected 9th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft by the Swift Current Broncos.

"A buddy of mine (told me)," Sexsmith said about finding out he had been drafted.

"I was hoping to find out myself, but my wifi must have been a little bit leggier than his and he was losing it so I found out from a friend on my team, but a pretty special moment. One I will remember for the rest of my life."

The Broncos used their first of two first round picks to select the 6'00", 159lbs defenceman, who spent the 2016-2017 season with the Rink Hockey Academy Bantam Prep. team.

Although thrilled to realize he had been selected by Swift Current in the top 10, Sexsmith says he did not anticipate being picked that fast.

"Personally, I would have never anticipated going ninth overall," he said.

"It is a tremendous honour to be drafted in that position. No matter where you go, I'm really happy Swift Current was the place to take me and I really think I am going to be a great fit for the organization."

The Edmonton, Alberta native posted 4 goals and 12 assists in 30 games.

He feels he is capable playing well on both ends of the ice.

"I'm a really aggressive hard working defenceman," Sexsmith said.

"I'll be the first guy up on the rush and I'll be the first guy back to support my teammates, get the puck out of our zone and make that good first pass. I have a really good physical presence that I have developed, and I play with some anger in my game."

Sexsmith also feels he brings strong leadership characteristics on and off the ice.

"I think I have a tremendous leadership ability," he said.

"I think my positivity has the ability to change the entire outlook of a team in split-seconds. For those of whom were at the Alberta Cup you could tell when the energy was up on our bench. We were originally the underdog coming in to the tournament, and I think we raised a lot of eyebrows because of how energetic the team was and how ready to go we were. I think I had a strong ability to kind of dictate that and I think it is a really good quality to have."

The defenceman says he is very much looking forward to competing for the Broncos and to try and bring the franchise their second Memorial Cup.

Until that point though, Sexsmith is not going to get ahead of himself, and does not want to look past the joys of his WHL draft day.

"It was a pretty surreal experience," he said.

"This is something I have dreamed of since I was a young guy. Being drafted, alone was pretty special but being able to watch the Broncos progress over the years and now being able to call myself a Broncos is a pretty special thing."