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Dillon Heatherington (photo by Darwin Knelsen)

Swift Current Broncos defenceman Dillon Heatherington has taken another step towards his NHL dream.

The Columbus Blue Jackets made him the 50th pick of the 2013 NHL Draft in New Jersey. He was their 4th pick of the draft and 1rst in the 2nd round.

"Very excited to be selected by Columbus," Heatherington said. "New favourite NHL team."

"Lots of work to be done yet, but tonight I'm celebrating with my family in New York City."

Click here for a video of Heatherington being interviewed by Blue Jackets media

Heatherington was the only Bronco to be selected in this year's draft.

His stock has risen significantly over his sophomore WHL season as he established himself as a top pairing defenceman relied upon to shut down the other team's top players.

"Probably since Christmas on he's got a lot of respect he's been watched by a lot of scouts," Lamb said. "Going over and playing in the U18 and doing very well winning a gold medal... he is a winner. I had a lot of people tell me he was the best defenceman over there."

Lamb sees Heatherington as a unique talent.

"What Heatherington brings is a whole different element that a lot of those other players don't bring," Lamb noted. "It's not just about being the best offensive player... you have to put together a team. He's an unbelievable defensive defenceman that can kill penalties. He can really skate and he's very aggressive."

Among North American skaters, Heatherington also rose from 44th in the midterm rankings to 31rst in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings. International Scouting Services ranked him 27th on their overall draft list.

The 6'4, 196lbs defenceman posted a career-high in points with 27 in 71 games and had a team best +25 rating this season. He was a first round WHL Bantam Draft pick by the Broncos in 2010.

Columbus had a bit of an inside look at Heatherington as former Broncos Assistant Coach Andy Schneider is a scout for the Blue Jackets. He told Home Hardware's Overtime last week that he expected Heatherington to be at least a 2nd round selection.

"He does have exceptional character and work ethic," Schenider said. "He's a big kid that skates well."

Heatherington helped Canada to a gold medal at this spring's U18 tournament. His ice time increased throughout the tournament to the point where he was virtually tied for most ice time among defencemen in the gold medal game.

The Calgary product finished top ten in the VO2 and bench press tests at the NHL combine.

The draft started Sunday afternoon with the Colorado Avalanche, now with Broncos legend Joe Sakic as their Executive VP of Hockey Operations, selecting Nathan MacKinnon of the Memorial Cup Champion Halifax Mooseheads 1st overall.