Jamie Benn (born July 18, 1989) is a professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Benn played his junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) prior to turning professional. He also represented Canada at the2009 World Junior Championships, where he helped capture a gold medal.
He is the younger brother of defenceman Jordie Benn, who also plays in the Stars organization.[1]
Personal Life
Jamie grew up playing hockey for the Peninsula Eagles minor hockey association and attended Stelly’s Secondary School as a teenager. He played for the Peninsula Panthers of the VIJHL, a local Junior B team located in Victoria, British Columbia during the 2005-2006 season.
[edit]Playing career
[edit]Kelowna Rockets
Benn was drafted by the Dallas Stars 129th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft from the Victoria Grizzlies of the Junior A British Columbia Hockey League(BCHL). Following his draft, Benn began his major junior career with the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL. He scored 65 points in his rookie season in 2007–08, then improved to a team-high 46 goals to go with 36 assists and 82 points in just 56 games in 2008–09. After being named to the WHL West First All-Star Team, Benn paced the Rockets with a playoff-leading 33 points en route to the 2009 Ed Chynoweth Cup title. In the subsequent 2009 Memorial Cuptournament, held in Rimouski, Benn notched a four-goal game and added an assist in the second round-robin match against the Drummondville Voltigeurs, a 6–4 win, to secure the Rockets a berth in the tournament final.[2]
[edit]Dallas Stars
Benn made the Stars’ roster for the 2009–10 and scored his first NHL goal on October 11, 2009, against Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks. Benn tied the score 3-3 late in the game, but the Stars lost later in the shootout.[3]
Benn took an opportunity in February 2011 after teammate Brad Richards concussion to take a leading role with the team where he had a career high 10 game point streak, which included a 6 game goal scoring streak. He contributed to the Stars late season push to return to a playoff position with 23 points in his last 23 games coming back from injury on February 22, 2011.
Benn got to experience alternate captaincy with the Stars in November 2011 when the Stars captain, Brenden Morrow, was out with an injury. As of January 4, 2012, he continues to play as an alternate captain.
Benn was selected to the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Although he underwent an appendectomy and missed several games prior to the event, he announced that he would play in the game. During the SuperSkills Competition, Benn participated in the Accuracy Shooting contest and won his leg against Steven Stamkos and then the finals against Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matt Read with times of 13.583 and 10.204 seconds respectively.
[edit]International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Canada |
||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2009 Canada | |
Playing in his second WHL season, Benn was named to Team Canada, along with Kelowna Rockets teammate Tyler Myers, for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa. He contributed 4 goals and 2 assists in 6 games, helping Canada to its record-tying fifth straight gold medal, defeating Sweden 5–1 in the final. Benn first represented the senior team at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.
[edit]Awards
- Won a World Junior gold medal with Team Canada in 2009.
- Named to the WHL West First All-Star Team in 2009.
- Won the Ed Chynoweth Cup with the Kelowna Rockets in 2009.
- Won the Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Leading Scorer in the Memorial Cup) in 2009.
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2012.