ANAHEIM, Calif. – Matt Niskanen had a lot to be thankful for Tuesday when he was selected to play in the NHL's YoungStars Game on Feb. 26 in Atlanta as part of the All-Star weekend.

But the person he was most thankful for was fellow defenseman Sergei Zubov, who will be joining him on the trip as the Stars' lone representative in the NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 27.

"It's a huge honor, and he's a big reason why I'm going," Niskanen said. "It'll be a real neat experience. I can't wait."

Niskanen, 21, has five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in his rookie season and leads the Stars in plus-minus at plus-14. Among rookie defensemen, he is second in plus-minus, second in goals and second in points. He is third in assists.

Among his teammates on the Western Conference team are: Erik Johnson of St. Louis, Jack Johnson of Los Angeles, Patrick Kane of Chicago and Sam Gagner of Edmonton. Niskanen played with or against many of these players in World Juniors, but said the YoungStars game would be special.

"It's more on the NHL stage now, and it will be real cool," Niskanen said. "There will be a lot of great players, and I'll get to see the All-Star Game and meet some new guys there."

Stars coach Dave Tippett said Niskanen will definitely be among his peers.

"That's a pretty select group," Tippett said. "And just the atmosphere of being around with the other NHL players. Any time a young guy can get that experience, I think it's just wonderful."

Zubov said Niskanen's calm presence and talent level is obvious.

"If you know anything about hockey, then all you have to do is watch him," Zubov said. "He's doing a great job."

■ Lessard traded: The Stars on Tuesday swapped right wing Junior Lessard to Tampa Bay for defenseman Dan Jancevski. The Stars have an abundance of forwards in Iowa and are thin on defense, so they acquired Jancevski, 26, a former second-round pick of the Stars.

Jancevski (6-3, 218) served as captain in Iowa in 2005-06.

Lessard, 27, can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer, and the Stars are hoping younger players such as Vojtek Polak, Janos Vas and Konstantin Pushkarev will be able to get more ice time in Iowa.

"We have some players like Polak and Pushkarev who seem to be ready," Stars co-general manager Les Jackson said. "With Junior, it didn't look like it was going to happen here. So we did him a favor, we opened up some opportunities for our young guys up front, and we helped our defense."

■ Briefly: Anaheim won its 13th game of the season after yielding the game's first goal, tops in the NHL. Dallas ranks third with 10. ... Zubov moved into sole possession of third place on the Stars' all-time games played list. Zubov has 828. Neal Broten is second at 992, and Mike Modano leads at 1,286. ... Since 1993-94, Zubov ranks second in the NHL in scoring among defensemen. Zubov has 736 points, while Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom has 808.