A lifelong dream should come true for Josh Brook this weekend.

The Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman is expected to be selected in one of the first four rounds during the 2017 NHL Draft, which goes on Friday and Saturday in Chicago.

While this is a moment that Brook has been waiting a long time for, it won’t be the only thing on his mind this weekend as he will be skipping the draft to attend his high school graduation.

“Being around the family at home will be good,” said Brook over the phone last week.

“I’m not going to be going in the first round, I don’t think, so I would have to sit there and watch people get picked before me, which would make me mad, I’m pretty competitive, so getting to spend time with my family will be more enjoyable.”

Brook was ranked 49th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings in April.

The six-foot-two, 185-pound defenceman is coming off a breakout second season with the Warriors that saw him set career-highs in goals (8), assists (32), points (40), games played (69) and penalty minutes (61).

The growth of the Roblin, Manitoba product’s game was most evident in the post-season when he led the Warriors in scoring with seven points in seven games and served as the team’s number one defenceman throughout their series with the Swift Current Broncos.

After closing out the year with the Warriors, Brook headed overseas with Team Canada for the IIHF World Under-18 Championship and also put together a strong showing at the NHL Combine.

Brook said there’s been plenty of interest in him heading into the draft, but he hasn’t been focusing on all the chatter around where he will picked.

“I haven’t looked at many of the rankings or anything, but when I have seen them, everyone is all over the place, they’re so different, so you don’t really know what to expect,” said Brook.

“I’ve had interest, but it’s just a matter of seeing what happens that day. I have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Despite growing up in Manitoba, Brook said he doesn’t have a preference on which team he goes to on draft day.

“I just want to go to a team that wants me,” he said. “I don’t care which team it is, I just want a team that’s going to give me a chance.”

With the draft just a few days away, Brook added that he’s excited for the wait to be over. “The wait has been the worse part, I just want it to happen already because the wait has been pretty nerve-racking,” said Brook.

Brook said that his support group has definitely helped him get to this point and he’s excited to spend draft day with them.

“My family is awesome, they’ve done so much to lead me to this point,” he said.

“It’s very exciting that there’s a possibility of me being drafted and it’s a big day, it’s a huge step towards my goal of playing in the NHL and I’m very excited.”

Fellow Warriors Jayden Halbgewachs and Brayden Burke were both ranked by NHL Central Scouting and there’s a possibility that they are selected this weekend as well.

The first round of the draft will be held on Friday night followed by rounds 2-7 on Saturday from the United Center in Chicago.