Max Lajoie is an Ottawa Senator.

The top defenceman for the Swift Current Broncos last season had his name called by Ottawa in the 5th round of the NHL draft, 133rd overall. 

"Great pick for Ottawa," said former Broncos Coach/GM Mark Lamb. "A steal in the 5th round."

Lajoie had 8 goals and 29 assists in 62 games as a sophomore for the Broncos last season.

22 of his points came in his last 29 games.

"Max is a good skater, puck-mover and has a good head on his shoulders," said Ottawa amateur scout George Fargher.

Lajoie joins former Bronco Zack Smith in the Senators organization.

"Unbelievable feeling," said Lajoie on Twitter. "Thank you to everyone along the way. Very honored to be part of the Senators organization!"

He was drafted lower than almost all of the pre-draft rankings had him.

Lajoie was ranked 44th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and 52nd by International Scouting Services.

"It's important that someone in the group likes you," said Broncos assistant general manager Jamie Porter. "It's important that somebody pushed for them to grab the player. It's important they liked something about him. I don't think (draft position) matters anymore. Not in today's game. You just need an opportunity and you have to make the most of it. No doubt at all that Max will put the work into it."

The challenge of becoming the top defenceman on a young team and having his season interrupted by illness may have contributed to his draft position falling.

"It was a transition year for him a little bit and the mono certainly didn't help any," Porter said. "Now he just has to prove those people right or wrong."

He was the lone member of the Broncos picked in this year's draft. Other players like Colby Sissons, Tyler Steenbergen and Lane Pederson had been mentioned as possible picks.

"Those guys had some interest there's no doubt," Porter said. "I'm sure there will be some development camp invites. They didn't go this year so they've got to prove those guys they made a mistake, come back, build on the season they had and get another look at it next year. We've got a number of Broncos that have gone through that before."

The next piece of business for the Broncos is the CHL Import Draft on Tuesday. Porter noted the departure of Coach/GM Mark Lamb to the AHL shouldn't impact their draft strategy as they had been planning it for a while.