Jamie Benn was born on July 18, 1989. He was selected 129th overall by the Dallas Stars at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Following a successful junior career which included a trip to the Memorial Cup with the Kelowna Rockets and a gold medal win with the Canadian team at the 2009 World Junior Championships, Benn joined the Stars in 2009-10 and began to establish himself as one of the premier rookies in the league. He recorded an impressive 22 goals in his first NHL season.
Benn then joined the Stars' AHL affiliate in Texas for the club's playoff run. The Stars were eventually defeated in the finals by the Hershey Bears, but Benn impressed with 14 goals and 12 assists in 24 playoff games.
In 2010-11 Benn would continue his progression into an elite goal-scorer. Though limited to just 69 games for the Stars, he matched his previous year's total of 22 goals. The following season (2011-12) Benn bettered that total, notching 26 goals to go along with 37 assists.
In the lockout shortened NHL season, Jamie Benn would commit to the Stars long term, agreeing to a five-year, $26.25 million contract on January 24, 2013. He would later go on to be named the sixth captain of the Dallas Stars' history on September 19, 2013.
In 2014 Benn was selected by to represent team Canada's Men's National Hockey team at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. Benn proved to be a key part of the team, registering the only goal against team USA in the semi-final match. He and the Canadian team would go on to defeat Sweden to take home the gold medal.
During the 2014-15 season, Benn scored 35 goals and 87 points to win the 2015 Art Ross Trophy. Benn entered the final day of the NHL regular season with 83 points, one behind both Sidney Crosby and John Tavares and moved in front on the strength of a four point (three goals, one assist) performance. Benn recorded 10 points in the final three games of the season to finish with 87 points to earn the first Art Ross Trophy of his career.
Benn would continue to dominate offensively during the 2015-16 season. He finished the season with 89 points, the second most in the NHL behind only Patrick Kane, and reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career.
