Benn might not be in the NHL today were it not for two simple words of advice his father gave him during a low point in the defenseman's career.
It's no wonder then that Benn decided to have those two words - Never Quit - tattooed on the inside of his left biceps as a reminder to never stop fighting for your dreams.
Benn's dream, of course, was the same one his younger brother Jamie had when the two were growing up in Victoria, British Columbia. That it took Jordie more than two years longer than Jamie to reach the NHL was what had him down that day he called his father in 2009. However, his perseverance paid off.
After establishing himself as a regular defenseman with the Dallas Stars during 2013-14, and following that with two strong seasons, Benn signed a three-year contract extension on June 24, 2016.
The deal came in the wake of Benn establishing himself as one of the Stars' steadier stay-at-home defensemen, one who delivered 327 hits and blocked 369 shots in his first 244 NHL games.
That rugged style of play, and Benn's full red beard, earned him the nickname Yukon Cornelius, a reference to the character in the animated Christmas special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Benn's amateur career began in 2003-04 with a stint with Peninsula in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League and continued with both Victoria teams, the Salsa and Grizzlies, in the British Columbia Hockey League.
Benn never played major junior hockey. He also went undrafted by NHL teams, but after one season in the East Coast Hockey League and another in the Central Hockey League, he was signed by the Stars.
Benn spent two seasons with Texas in the American Hockey League before earning promotion to the NHL, where he made his NHL debut - and scored his first NHL point - on Jan. 3, 2012 in a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
The point was a second assist on a goal scored by Loui Eriksson in which Jamie Benn had the first assist.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Signed as a free agent by Dallas, July 1, 2011.
- Traded to Montreal by Dallas for Greg Pateryn and Montreal's 4th round pick (later traded to Los Angeles -- Los Angeles selected Markus Phillips) in 2017 NHL Draft, February 26, 2017.
