A lot of hard work has went into Rhett Gardner getting to the stage that he’s at in his hockey career.

That hard work was rewarded on Saturday morning when the Moose Jaw product was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round, 116th overall, by the Dallas Stars.

“It was pretty special,” said Gardner. “It’s been a long ways, it’s my third year of eligibility, so I’ve been through a couple of drafts before, but it was a really exciting moment for me and my family, we’re all really excited about the Stars.”

Gardner just completed his freshman season with the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, helping them to the NCAA men’s hockey national championship in the process.

After going undrafted following two years in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Gardner feels that how he was able to play this past year at the NCAA level as a freshman was what attracted the Stars to him this time around.

“My game just elevated throughout the whole year,” he said. “I proved a lot of people wrong about my speed, being a bigger guy, and playing at the NCAA level against tougher competition and still producing definitely boosted my stock.”

During his freshman season, the six-foot-two, 200-pound forward posted 11 goals and 18 points in 41 games, while playing a versatile role for UND that included jumping from a shutdown role to an offensive role and also taking key face-offs, including one in the defensive zone in the final ten seconds of the national semifinal game.

Gardner’s 11 goals were fourth most among National Collegiate Hockey Conference rookies, while his 52.9 face-off winning percentage was tops in the conference among freshman players.

“The opportunity that I got from my coaching staff and the teammates that I played with helped me out a lot, so I owe a lot to those guys,” said Gardner.

After going through the draft twice before and not getting selected, Gardner said that he didn’t want to get his hopes up in case it didn’t happen again, but he felt confident heading into draft day on Saturday.

“I had a pretty good idea that I’d go, my family adviser and coaching staff told me to expect a phone call,” said Gardner.

The Stars put together a strong season this past year, finishing first in the Western Conference with a 50-23-9 record. Gardner said that he’s excited to be joining an organization on the rise.

“They’re an organization that is definitely moving in the right way,” he said. “They have really good management with a good coaching staff and they starting to prove to be a consistent playoff team, so I’m really excited to go to a winning organization like that.”

Now that the draft moment has come, Gardner said that his focus is back on doing what he can to have another strong season at UND.

“I’m in a great spot, UND breeds pro hockey players, so I’m in one of the best spots to develop,” said Gardner. “I’m going to take all the time I need to develop and then hopefully come out and join the Stars’ organization one day, but right now, I’m just worrying about being the best player that I can be and try to win another national championship next year.”

Gardner is the first Moose Jaw-born player to be taken in the NHL Draft since Matt Delahey went to the New Jersey Devils in the fourth round in 2008.