Benn was overlooked for much of his early hockey career.

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He was ignored by major junior teams as a 16- and 17-year-old growing up in Victoria, British Columbia, then had to wait until the fifth round (No. 129) before the Dallas Stars selected him in the 2007 NHL Draft. He also was left off the list of invitees to Canada's orientation camp for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

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Canada eventually corrected the oversight, adding Benn just before the start of the Games. Benn went on to score the game's only goal in the semifinal victory against the United States that sent Canada to the gold-medal game, where it defeated Sweden 3-0.

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Benn established himself among the NHL's elite. He was named to the First All-Star Team in 2013-14, won the Art Ross Trophy as the League's top scorer (87 points) and was named to the Second All-Star Team in 2014-15, then had 41 goals and 89 points in 2015-16, when he was named to the First All-Star Team for the second time.

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But Benn has shown he is more than just a scorer. He led the Stars with 120 hits during the 2014-15 season and 156 in 2015-16, and he was first among Stars forwards in blocked shots with 59 in 2013-14 and second with 55 in 2015-16.

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Not bad for a player who had to wait until after he was drafted to make the jump to major junior hockey. Even then, Benn still had to ask for a tryout before catching on with Kelowna in the Western Hockey League for the 2007-08 season.

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Benn immediately impressed, scoring 147 points (79 goals, 68 assists) in 107 games in two seasons to earn a promotion straight from junior hockey to the NHL for the start of the 2009-10 season. He finished with 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists) and was seventh in the balloting for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

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Benn was named the sixth captain in Dallas history prior to the 2013-14 season, and he signed an eight-year contract extension on July 15, 2016.

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He scored his 300th NHL goal Feb. 27, 2020, against the Boston Bruins, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

 

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

 

• WHL West First All-Star Team (2009)

• NHL First All-Star Team (2014, 2016)

• NHL Second All-Star Team (2015)

• Art Ross Trophy (2015)

• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2012, 2016)

• Signed as a free agent by Hamburg (Germany), October 3, 2012