The transition from his hometown of Victoria, BC to one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the United States wasn't entirely seamless at first, though.
"I was just a nervous, young kid at the time. Getting away from home, getting away from the parents for the first time, I had a few tough months there and I got homesick," recalled Benn, who moved to Texas in 2009 to play for the CHL's Allen Americans, then a Stars affiliate, for one season. "It was just a lot different, especially the weather. You hear how hot it is, but you don't realize it until you get down there.
"Obviously, being a fair-skinned ginger, it took a toll on me," he cracked.
But with the encouragement of his parents, the help of a good teammate, and some Southern hospitality, Benn gradually felt at ease and settled in for the start of an extended stay in Big D that spanned the majority of his 20s.
"My old man and my mom, they just supported me a lot. They just said, 'Don't come back, tough it out.' I also had a roommate, Liam Huculak. I lived with him and his girlfriend and it kind of made it easier for me, too. He was a big help," said Benn, on the early stages of his Texas odyssey in the northern Dallas suburb. "Then, the people down there are so nice. They took us in and we got treated like gold in Allen. Any chance they had to help out with anything, they did, whether it was with meals, a place to live, or a car."
It didn't hurt having his younger brother, Jamie, living nearby, either. The current Stars captain moved south that same season to begin his rookie NHL campaign.
Eventually, the pair joined forces as teammates - and housemates - and were basically inseparable until Jordie's departure for Montreal.
"That's what I remember, playing with my brother and getting to live that NHL dream inside and outside of the rink," explained Benn, who played 302 games in a Stars uniform between 2011-12 and 2016-17. "We were tied at the hip there. We'd go to the rink together, leave together. That's really something special to me, that we got to play in the NHL and live our dream together for those years."