Born in Roubaix, France, Roussel began his childhood athletic career playing rugby. But when he was let go by his hometown club team for repeatedly leaving the field to escape the heat during summer practices, his mother enrolled him in a hockey league. Roussel has been playing hockey like a rugby player ever since.

A gritty wing who worked his way onto the Chicoutimi roster in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after his family moved to Canada when he was 16, Roussel ranked in the top three on the Dallas Stars in hits in each of his first three full NHL seasons and led the team in penalty minutes in all three seasons.

But Roussel is more than just a grinder. He's quite capable of producing in the offensive end of the ice as well. He scored 12 or more goals and produced 25 or more points in each of his first four full seasons in the NHL, and tied for second on the Stars in game-winning goals with six during the 2015-16 season.

Roussel has carved out a solid career since entering the NHL as an undrafted free agent. The snub forced Roussel to pave his own path to the NHL. After finishing his fourth and final season with Chicoutimi, he spent most of the 2010-11 season with Providence of the American Hockey League.

An invitation to attend a Vancouver Canucks prospect camp in the summer of 2-11 earned him a contract with Chicago, the Canucks' AHL affiliate, for the 2011-12 season.

Roussel signed as a free agent with Dallas on July 2, 2012. Seven months later, after spending the first half of the 2012-13 season with Texas in the AHL, Roussel got the call from Dallas. He made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal on Feb. 1, 2013, in a shootout victory against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Roussel became a checking-line regular with the Stars in 2013-14, finishing with 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) and 209 penalty minutes in 81 games. He played 80 games in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and combined for 26 goals, 54 points and 271 penalty minutes, and had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) with 126 penalty minutes in 2017-18.

Despite the drop in offense, Roussel's grit and ability to play a physical game earned him a four-year, $12 million contract with the Canucks, who signed him on July 1, 2018.

Internationally, Roussel played for France at the IIHF World Championship in 2012, 2013 and 2014. His 11 points in 2014 earned him a berth on the tournament's all-star team.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• Signed as a free agent by Dallas, July 2, 2012.
• Signed as a free agent by Vancouver, July 1, 2018.