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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Back in the fall of 2013, there was no small amount of discussion surrounding Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and a potential spot on the U.S. Olympic hockey team. As the U.S. management team worked to prioritize its list of potential defenders, Byfuglien was up and down the list like a yo-yo. Could he play on the big ice? What about his defense? Could he go and just play on the power play? Could he go but as a forward? In the end the management group led by GM David Poile of the Nashville Predators felt the risk presented by the big but mercurial defenseman was too great given other options available, and so Byfuglien was left off the final roster for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Sure it stung. Sort of. "I mean it was, but it wasn't" disappointing, Byfuglien said Thursday. "As long as my name was out there, it was out there. That was in the past now; now is now." Now does indeed seem like a long time removed from then. In fact, Byfuglien isn't just on Team USA as it prepares for the World Cup of Hockey, he will play top-four minutes on the Team USA blue line -- likely playing with Ryan Suter -- and looks to man the point on the team’s top power-play unit. He has gone from being a player whose pluses and minuses were always a little out of whack to a core player who last season earned a five-year contract extension from the Jets worth $38 million. "I think it's just more commitment," Byfuglien said. "Settling down and not being free-range." Byfuglien, who burst onto the NHL scene as a forward with the Chicago Blackhawks on their Stanley Cup-winning team in 2010 before being moved to defense full time, has worked on refining and stabilizing his defensive game while continuing to be an offensive force. During the past two seasons, his 37 goals are tied for third among all defensemen. He’s collected 98 points in that period. "I mean, it's pretty obvious how hard he shoots it," said Team USA teammate Jonathan Quick, who sees plenty of Byfuglien-launched rubber as goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings. "I’m sure it seems a little bit faster when it’s coming at you, too." But it’s not just the shot.  "Something that's a little underrated is his ability to see the ice, too," Quick said. "A lot of guys are trying to get in that lane and block the shot, and the goalies are taking an extra step out because he shoots so well and he has the ability to kind of fool a defensemen and a goalie and make a good pass to an open guy, too, to create scoring chances that way, too." 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." Of course there’s always the possibility that he might just run over you like a truck, even when he has the puck. "He’s still a guy that when he’s got the puck, to get it from him is a tall task and normally it’s not a one-man job," said USA teammate David Backes, who will see less of Byfuglien this season having signed with the Boston Bruins in the offseason. "His ability to keep the puck moving forward and move piles of people, he’s a formidable force that, him being in Winnipeg, I’m not too disappointed to not be playing on a regular basis anymore."
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