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Hockey Canada announced its first 17 players for the 2012 World Championship, and Stars forward Jamie Benn is among that group.

Benn, who has represented Canada at the World Junior Championship, is one of 11 forwards on the roster. Other forwards include Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, John Tavares, Jordan Eberle and Jeff Skinner.

"Whenever you get a chance to play in May, it is a good experience. Plus, they are playing with some elite players over there," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "For Benny, it's maybe a chance to play with Getzlaf, Perry, Tavares and those type of players, guys of his caliber. They make each other better, so it will be a good experience."

The announcement on Canada's roster and the list of players is here.

Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski and goaltender Richard Bachman were on Team USA's initial list of players, which was released yesterday. Texas Stars goaltender Jack Campbell is expected to be added to the roster as well.

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen is expected to play for Finland, forward Loui Eriksson is playing for Sweden, defenseman Philip Larsen will play for Denmark and Tomas Vincour is under consideration for the Czech squad.

The tournament, which gets underway May 4, will be played in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Here's the release from the Stars:

EA Sports is giving fans the opportunity to shape the face of the world’s #1 hockey video game franchise – EA Sports NHL, by participating in the first-ever EA Sports NHL Cover Vote Campaign – presented by Blackberry and hosted on NHL.com.

A field of 60 players will be narrowed down to one. The winning player will be unveiled as the EA Sports NHL 13 Cover Athlete at the 2012 NHL Awards on June 20 in Las Vegas.

The Dallas Stars will be represented in the cover vote by Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson. The two will square off in round one of the vote, which begins TODAY (March 29th) and runs through April 11th.

Jordie Benn, Stars defenseman and older brother of Jamie, has volunteered to be his campaign manager: “I think all of the fans should vote for Jamie. He deserves it. Plus he offered me some incentives if I helped get him on the cover. I think it’s free dinner or something. Either way, help a brother out. Rather, help my brother out and go vote Jamie Benn for EA Sports NHL 13 cover man.”

Eriksson, representing himself, had some simple and direct words about the cover vote: “Vote for Loui. It’s an easy decision. Vote for me. Jamie takes too many penalties to be the cover man. Thanks for your support.”

Fans are encouraged to log on to NHL.COM/COVERVOTE to vote for Benn or Eriksson, as well as the 58 other NHL players competing in head-to-head battles.

DALLAS -- Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said right after Tuesday’s game that he thought Shane Doan’s hit on Jamie Benn was a “suspendable offense.” Wednesday night, the league suspended Doan three games for elbowing Benn.

This morning, Gulutzan was asked for his reaction to the suspension.

“I think the league has done a good job -- where it’s us or not -- of certainly making it clear what is a suspension and what is not,” Gulutzan said. “We just had a meeting about three weeks ago with Shanny (NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan) and that’s what it was about, the rules and the clarity. From what they spelled out, I said it was a suspension. You can’t target the head on a hit, and that’s what it was.”

As for the three games, Gulutzan quipped he wouldn’t have minded more games since the Stars are battling the Coyotes for the Pacific Division title and a playoff spot, but he said the length of the suspension was reasonable.

“Of course we’d like more, we’re fighting with Phoenix and he’s a real good player. He’s a pretty honest guy and he’s been in the league a long time,” Gulutzan said. “I think three is probably the way to go.”

The NHL has suspended Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan three games for elbowing Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn in Tuesday night’s 4-3 shootout win by the Stars.

“While we accept Doan’s assertion that the action was not intentional, we feel that Doan’s extended elbow in that situation was reckless and made him responsible for the dangerous head contact that resulted,” the NHL’s Brendan Shanahan said in announcing the suspension. “It is important to note that Doan is a repeat offender, having been suspended for three games 17 months ago for an illegal check to the head. We have also taken into consideration that Doan was fined just five days ago for a dangerous boarding incident.”

The hit took place in the second period, just after the Stars had taken a 2-1 lead in the game on a power play goal by Michael Ryder. After Benn chipped the puck past Doan in the Dallas zone, Doan stuck out his elbow and caught Benn in the head.

“He got me pretty good,” Benn said Wednesday morning.

Benn, who took two big hits in the game including the elbow from Doan, said he was OK and would play Thursday against the Canucks.

"Feeling fine, normal," Benn said.

The Dallas forward was asked if he was disappointed with the hit, and took the diplomatic route.

"No, it's hockey. It's so fast out there, things happen," Benn said. "I'll let the league deal with it.

“Hockey is a rough sport. Bodies are flying, elbows are flying. Guys are trying to crack down on it now. Players are doing a lot better at taking responsibility for their hits. It was just a play that happened fast and it is what it is.”

Benn was also nailed hard by Phoenix forward Antoine Vermette in overtime and left the game briefly. He returned to take part in the shootout. Benn admitted he might have been a target for the Coyotes on Tuesday night.

“Everyone is looking to get into the playoffs and they are keying on guys to shut them down,” he said. “I had an ‘X’ on my back last night, but I’ll take that if they are going to leave our top line alone. They stepped up and played a good game.”

Doan, who will forfeit $166,463.40 in salary, will be eligible to return for the March 29 game versus the San Jose Sharks.

Shanahan video explanation

Here's the video explanation of the Shane Doan suspension from the NHL's Brendan Shanahan.

FRISCO -- Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn said he is feeling fine after taking a couple of hard hits in Tuesday night's 4-3 shootout win over Phoenix at American Airlines Center.

"Feeling fine, normal," Benn said.

The first hit came when Phoenix captain Shane Doan caught in him in the head with an elbow. Doan, who received an elbowing minor during the game for the hit, faces possible suspension. He has a disciplinary hearing with the league later this afternoon. Benn was asked if he was disappointed with Doan's hit.

"No, it's hockey. It's so fast out there, things happen," Benn said. "I'll let the league deal with it."

Benn also was shaken up in overtime when he was hit hard into the boards by Phoenix's Antoine Vermette. Benn received some assistance in the tunnel leading to the locker room, but returned in time for the shootout.

"It was a tough play. I was tripped into the boards and slid in there," Benn said. "It was a little bit of a scramble. I fell into the boards pretty hard, got up and toe-picked (fell donw) and skated off."

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Benn will be fine for Thursday's game against Vancouver.

Defenseman Mark Fistric is out for Thurday's game with abdominal strain. He left the game in the second period and did not return.

"Fisty is out. He's a got a little ab strain. He's going to be a day-to-day guy. He's a little sore today," Gulutzan said. "Pards (Adam Pardy) will come in tomorrow."

The Stars held an optional skate today. Goalies Kari Lehtonen and Richard Bachman were both on the ice along with Pardy, Philip Larsen, Toby Petersen, Ryan Garbutt, Tomas Vincour and Jordie Benn.

DALLAS -- Stars coach Glen Gulutzan believes Phoenix captain Shane Doan could be looking at a suspension for a hit on Dallas forward Jamie Benn in Tuesday’s 4-3 Dallas shootout win American Airlines Center.

Doan caught Benn with an elbow in the second period of the game, prompting a major scrum that saw a total of 64 penalty minutes handed out. Doan, picked up a fighting major along with Dallas captain Brenden Morrow, was given an elbowing minor for the hit on Benn.

“I think it is a suspendable offense. He targeted the head with his elbow,” said Gulutzan. “The league will look at it for sure and decide. But it’s deliberate.”

Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said after the game he hadn’t looked at the hit yet, but did express concern about losing Doan to a possible suspension.

“I haven’t looked at it yet but we’ll see how that goes,” Tippett said. “We’re lacking a few bodies right now. That would be one we couldn’t miss but we’ll see how that turns out.”

Benn was shaken up on the hit, but did return to the game. He was shaken up another hit in overtime, but returned to take part in the shootout.

Here’s video of Doan’s hit on Benn:

FRISCO -- Stars center Jamie Benn, who has missed the last six games with a leg injury, will return to the lineup Wednesday when the Dallas Stars host the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Benn went through a full practice on Tuesday, and said he was ready to go.

"It went well. I felt good out there. It was good to get back out there with the guys, skate around, have some fun and do some high-paced drills," Benn said. "I feel ready to go."

Benn was cut on the left thigh by the skate of Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano on February 16.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan doesn't expect Benn to play 20 minutes in his first game back, but said getting him back will be a huge boost for the Stars as they battle to make the playoffs.

"You need your guys back," Gulutzan said. "Benny has been a huge player for us all season and we've managed without him and now he has to come back in and it's going to give us a big boost for sure. Whenever you get a chance to get arguably your best player back, you welcome it with open arms."

Benn centered a line with Steve Ott and Adam Burish in Monday's practice.

Here's how the forward lines looked.

Eriksson-Ribeiro-Ryder
Ott-Benn-Burish
Nystrom-Fiddler-Dvorak
Garbutt-Wandell-Vincour

Kari Lehtonen will start in goal Wednesday.

DALLAS -- Stars forward Jamie Benn, who has missed the last five games with a leg injury, will not play in Sunday's game against the Vancouver Canucks.

"He's day-to-day. He won't be a player Sunday," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We're hoping Wednesday (vs. Pittsburgh) but best case scenario may even be that Friday (at Edmonton)."

Benn was injured February 16 when was cut on the leg by a skate in a game against Calgary.

Larsen leaves Friday's after getting hit in head with puck

Stars defenseman Philip Larsen suffered a cut on his head after he was hit by a puck in Friday's game against Minnesota. With the Stars on the penalty kill late in the second period Larsen was in the slot when he was hit by a puck off the stick of Wild forward Matt Cullen.

"He's got a cut on his head. It cracked his helmet open and we'll see how he is tomorrow," Gulutzan said. "He seems OK, but we want to make sure and see how he is tomorrow."

DALLAS -- Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn is day-to-day after being cut on the leg with a skate during Thursday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames at American Airlines Center.

Benn was injured in a second period collision with Flames defenseman Mark Giordano, whose skate appeared to catch Benn in the thigh.

"He's got a cut on his leg. He got hit by a skate. He's got stitches in his leg and he's going to be day-to-day," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. "It's a pretty decent size cut, so he is going to be day-to-day. He probably won't play in Phoenix (Saturday), but there is a possibility he could play here (vs. Nashville) on Sunday."

Benn is the Stars' leading scorer with 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 52 games.

Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn will head back to Dallas with some great memories from his weekend in Ottawa, including a win in the NHL All-Star Game as Team Chara beat Team Alfredsson, 12-9, at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

“It was a great experience,” Benn said. “They put on a pretty good weekend and it’s something I’ll never forget.”

Benn played on a line with Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle for Team Chara. He logged 14:02 of ice time, registering no points and no shots on goal. But this was less about the stats for Benn and more about the experience.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” Benn said. “The amount of talent these players have, it’s crazy. I just hope I’ll be fortunate enough to play in another All-Star Game. ... Just taking it in, the weekend we had. It was pretty special. Just meeting the guys, it was a good group of guys. Hopefully, I can do it again."

Marian Gaborik of the New York Rangers scored three goals for Team Chara and was named the game’s MVP. Boston’s Tim Thomas was the winning goalie for the fourth straight All-Star game. The game recap is here.

Benn will head back with the some honors from the weekend. He won the accuracy shooting contest in Saturday’s skills competition, hitting 4 of 6 targets in 13.5 seconds in the preliminary round and then 4 of 5 targets in just 10.2 seconds in the final round.

Stars forward Jamie Benn had an impressive showing at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, taking the shooting accuracy competition and putting on another impressive shooting display in the skills challenge relay.

In the first round of the accuracy competition he hit four of six targets in 13.583 seconds to advance to the finals against Philadelphia rookie Matt Read. Benn then hit four of five targets in in 10.204 seconds in the finals to win the competition to top Read, who hit his four targets in 16.361 seconds.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Benn said on NBC Sports Network’s telecast of the All-Star Skills Competition. “Once you get one you can get on a roll and run with it.”

After the competition he said it was a lot of practice shooting pucks as a kid that paid dividends.

“Shooting all the time growing up and practicing in the garage really paid off,” Benn said.

In the skills challenge relay, Benn had the hardest angle one-timer but he hit three of three shots for Team Chara.

“That sharp angle, I was a little nervous about that one, getting them in,” Benn said.

He was eliminated in the first round of the elimination shootout when Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick made a pad save on his wrist shot.

The highlight of the night was Boston’s Zdeno Chara breaking his own record in the hardest shot competition. Chara shattered his previous record of 105.9 MPH by hitting 108.8 MPH on Saturday night.

Another highlight was Chicago’s Patrick Kane taking the breakaway challenge by donning a Superman cape, Clark Kent glasses and then scoring a goal while gliding towards the net on his stomach.

Team Alfredsson won the skills competition over Team Chara by a score of 21-12.

For Benn, it was a good experience.

“I think it went really well. It was a lot of fun out there,” he said. “It was pretty cool to see the skill that these guys have and it was great for the first time.”

Here were the winners in Saturday’s night’s All-Star Skills Competition.

Faster skater: Carl Hagelin, NY Rangers
Breakaway challenge: Patrick Kane, Chicago
Accuracy shooting: Jamie Benn, Dallas
Hardest shot: Zdeno Chara, Boston
Elimination shootout: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay

Full results are here.

Video of Benn in final round

Friday was All-Star media day in Ottawa. Here are a few quotes from Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn as he chatted with various media outlets.

On not getting picked last in Thursday night’s All-Star Fantasy Draft

“I’m going to tell him (Zdeno Chara) that he owes me a car.” (Team 1200 Radio, Ottawa)

On whether being an All-Star gives him a sense of having arrived

“Definitely. You come here and you see who you are surrounded by. For young guys like us, we just have to take it in and have fun with it. It’s a pretty cool experience.” (TSN Radio)

On winning a gold medal at the the 2009 World Junior Championship, which was held in Ottawa

“It was unbelievable. Being down 3-0 against the U.S. and coming back, and then beating the Russians. It was one of the best, if not the best hockey moment of my life, winning that gold medal. It’s something I’ll never forget.” (Team 1200 Radio, Ottawa)

On the reasons behind his level of play this season

“I think it’s a little bit of everything. It’s my third year now. I’m confident out there now. I made the switch to center and I think I am really excelling at that position. I am playing with some good players and getting a good chance to play a lot of minutes. I’m having fun with it and it’s good so far.” (Team 1200 Radio, Ottawa)

If there’s a player he grew up watching that he is excited to playing with at All-Star weekend

“Definitely (Pavel) Datsyuk. He’s one of my favorite players to watch. He’s a magician out there. I am definitely looking forward to skating with him, too.” (Team 1200 Radio, Ottawa)

On Stars center Mike Ribeiro suiting up to play goalie once in a while

“He’s actually a lot better than you think. He skates with us in the summer and when we need a goalie he’s the first one to jump in there. He’s pretty good, but I might have to test him out there one training camp.” (NHL.com)

On whether he shoots high on Ribeiro

“Head hunting for sure.” (NHL.com)

Saturday night is the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, and Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn will take part in three events for Team Chara.

Benn will be in the accuracy shooting competition, will take the left-handed one-timer in the skills challenge relay and will be one of Team Chara’s shooters in the elimination shootout.

The full lineups for the Skills Competition are here at NHL.com.

A description of the events is here.

The Skills Competition is Saturday night at 6 p.m. (CST) and will be carried on the NBC Sports Network, formerly known as Versus.

Stars forward Jamie Benn was almost the last player selected in Thursday night’s NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft, but Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara decided that Benn would be the 37^th player selected and not the 38^th.

Benn and San Jose’s Logan Couture were the last two players left in the draft and it was Chara’s decision as to which player would be picked next and which player would be the last one left.

“It’s never easy to leave one guy standing, to be the last one,” Chara said as he made his selection. “But Jamie really deserves to be picked because he had surgery a couple days ago and he still showed up. That’s a big credit to him. So I am picking Dallas Star Jamie Benn.”

Couture, as the last player to be picked in the draft, received a car.

“It was a little bit of a win-win there. Get picked or get a car,” said Benn. “I’m happy I got picked.”

Benn said the experience was fun and a little tense.

“Coming down to the wire it was a little nerve-wracking, but fun at the same time. We’re here for a good weekend and I am looking forward to it,” Benn said. “I don’t think [where you get picked] matters. I think just getting the chance to be at an All-Star game is a pretty good honor. For Zdeno to throw out a shout out there was really nice of him.”

Chara had the first overall pick in the draft and selected Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk, meaning Benn will be teammates with one of the players he was looking forward to seeing at the All-Star festivities this weekend.

“Maybe Datsyuk, he’s pretty cool. He’s a player I like to watch,” Benn said when asked earlier this week about the players he was looking forward to skating with in Ottawa. “(Claude) Giroux, (Steven) Stamkos, all the top players in this league are pretty exciting to watch and to get a chance to skate with them is pretty cool.”

Giroux and Stamkos will skate for Team Alfredsson, which is captained by Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson. Alfredsson’s first pick and the second overall pick of the draft was his Ottawa teammate, defenseman Erik Karlsson.

The All-Star Skills competition is Saturday and the NHL All-Star Game is Sunday. The selections in Thursday’s draft are below.

DALLAS - Stars forward Jamie Benn, who has missed the last four games due to an appendectomy, skated at the American Airlines Center this morning. He's not ready to play tonight against Anaheim, but Benn said he'll be heading to Ottawa later this week for the NHL All-Star game.

"I think I am going to go," Benn said. "It will be a good experience for me and it will be fun, so I am looking forward to it."

The first piece of business will be the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft, which is Thursday. Benn joked that he has his eye on that car that goes to the player who gets selected last in the draft.

"If I walk in there on crutches, I figure I might key in for that car," Benn said.

The All-Star skills competition is Saturday and the NHL All-Star Game is Sunday.