Antoine Roussel's worlds collided these past few weeks, and the results were like fireworks.

The scrappy Stars forward loves the hockey, loves France and loves the limelight, so the fact that he was able to excel at the IIHF World Championships in Paris, well, it's amour.

"It's important," Roussel said before he left Texas for France. "To, it's really important."

He showed just how important by making a strong statement. After seven pool games, Roussel is tied for the tournament goal scoring lead with six. Unfortunately, France will not advance and Roussel's tournament is now over.

"The team played well," Roussel told reporters after France barely missed the quarterfinals. "It's a tough pill to swallow. We worked so hard and so long, but we have to be happy as well. We brought a lot of heart to the game. There's a lot more positives than negatives."

Roussel is certainly one of the positives for the Stars. While Dallas standouts Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are taking care of health issues, and RFA's Esa Lindell and Radek Faksa are missing the tournament because they don't yet have new contracts, Roussel recovered from a hand injury and was one of France's best players with eight points in seven games.

He said before going that playing for Team France is a dream he had as a child, one he has been able to enjoy several times.

"When I was growing up, I didn't think about being an NHL player, I just wanted to play for France," he said. "That, to me was doable."

He added that he hopes he can spark that same dream in a young French hockey player.

"Now, I want to share back with them my feelings when I was a kid," he said. "Everybody needs a goal and a dream and maybe I can help someone with that."

And while France is out, Roussel said having the IIHF World Championships in his home country will have a continued influence.

"We hope it is going to grow the game in France," he said. "When I started playing hockey in 1992, it was just after the Olympics in Albertville. I think that is why my parents started me playing hockey. Maybe more events like this will bring more French players to the big leagues."

Stars players also performing include:

John Klingberg: The Swedish defenseman has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 6 games.

Julius Honka: The Finnish defenseman has 6 points (3 goals, 3assists) in 6 games.

Valeri Nichushkin: The Russian winger was just activated and has no points in two games. Nichushkin still is under contract to the KHL but might ponder a return to the NHL for next season.