from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

The physical attributes -- the 31-year-old is a beast-like 6-foot-5, 260 pounds -- are one thing, but Team USA head coach John Tortorella loves the personality of the Roseau, Minnesota, native.

"He’s a bit of a renegade," Tortorella said. "I like the enthusiasm. I like the jam that he’ll bring. So there’s a variety of things that he can do for this club as we go through this tournament.

"The thing that I’ve always liked about him is that he’s different as far as personality, and I think we need that on our club."

Well, OK, Tortorella likes the shot, too.

"The thing I like about him is that he’s thinking shot, too," he said. "It’s not about overpassing, especially on the power play. He may not score but it’s probably the best pass, him shooting, how hard he shoots. Something good’s going to happen if it doesn’t go in the net. There’s going to be some rebounds. There’s going to be puck retrievals."

more