Antoine Roussel Swatch Card

A month of toughness warranted a look towards Antoine Roussel, the Dallas Stars' resident pest/heavy hitter who's gaining recognition all around the NHL:

He's physical, gets up under guys skins, and can throw opposing teams off balance by creating chaos wherever he is on the ice. Even tougher to swallow for opposing fans is the fact that Roussel isn't just some goon - he can make you pay with his fists as equally as he can on the scoreboard. He's potted a half dozen game-winning goals this year alone.

He's been straddling the right side of the thin line between "right" and "wrong", as well as "legal" and "not", for the better part of two years now.

He's on pace for a 40-point season, which would be a career-high for him and would cement his role in the middle-six and as a part-time powerplay participant. So far, he's flirted with the 15-goal and 30-point marks while accumulating 209, 148 and 123 penalty minutes in three full-time NHL seasons.

I believe he would be most effective in a Milan Lucic-like (dirty power forward) role, perhaps aiming for numbers such as 20/40/100, with highs around 25/55/125.

Here he is wearing the Stars' current white (away) uniform, on card #RG-AR from Panini's 2013-14 Titanium set, and Rookie Gear and Dual Rookie Class sub-sets:

It features a matching event-worn jersey swatch.

While suiting up for Team France at the 2014 World Championships - his third straight Worlds participation - he posted 11 points in just 8 games and was selected on the media's All-Star Team; he probably should have been named to Team Europe at the World Cup, with or instead of fellow countryman Pierre-Édourard Bellemare.