EVERY now and then when frequenting certain areas of Glasgow, you get the feeling when you meet someone that you are dealing with ‘a bit of a character’.

The very such thought popped into my head as I stood in front of a 6ft 3in colossus on the banks of the River Clyde. A burst mouth with encrusted stitches just about concealed a single upper tooth on show below a dislocated jaw as the words “I’ve been quite fortunate with injuries” came tumbling from his mouth.

You don't say.

One could be forgiven for thinking Jay Rosehill had either taken one too many bangs to the head or perhaps the Canadian doesn’t glance in the mirror too often.

But in the grand scheme of things, the burly figure that arrived in Scotland over the summer has done remarkably well to stand, apart from a few scrapes and scars, pretty much intact as he now looks to a new beginning with Braehead Clan.

Rosehill earned a fierce reputation in the National Hockey League as a formidable enforcer – basically a boxer on skates – that left defences either quaking in fear or clutching an ice pack to sooth the dull throb coming from a bruised phizog underneath. Dozens, if not hundreds, of YouTube clip have been uploaded to the net of titanic punch ups the 31-year-old has been involved in over the years representing the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Philadelphia Flyers.

Now in the Elite League in the UK, the Canadian tones coming from that bust mouth open up on the inner workings of an enforcer’s mind.

“It can grow on you,” Rosehill said. “You get banged up along the way.

“Mentally when you know you are going to go out there and play as many minutes, you don’t get a chance to get a sweat on before you fight, it does wear on you. It’s nice to be out here when you can get into the game and then if you have to do that stuff you are ready and willing because you are already involved.

“I’ve always liked playing physically. Sometimes when that role gets thrust on you it may not be every night you feel like doing it. Most of the time it’s the day of the game or the night before where it wears on you mentally.

“But whenever I have my equipment on and you are on the ice it all goes away. It never bothers you, it’s just off the ice it grinds on you when the adrenaline go away.”

So, tell us about your battle scars.

“I’ve been pretty lucky,” he said with a straight face. Well, as straight as his bashed up mouth would allow. “I’ve broken my thumbs quite a few times.

“I’ve been pretty good with my face, just a few cuts and bruises. I’ve torn my knee, separated my shoulder, broken my leg. I’ve only ever really broken my thumbs when fighting, I hope that continues.”

Get your lucky white heather here, then.

The EIHL has always attracted former NHL players to these shores, most of them in the later stages of their careers. At just 31, Rosehill doesn’t fall into this category.

Instead, it’s a change in pace – and style – that will see him wear the Braehead purple this season.

“I talked to a couple of buddies back home who had been over here. The league is just getting better and better and the quality of hockey is going up,” said Rosehill, who lost three teeth and required 30 stitches in a collision with a high-flying puck on his Clan debut.

“Talking to Ryan Finnerty it became clear there was a place for me here and I was going to play more hockey. In North America that was diminishing and it wasn’t as fun to play hockey anymore.

“I’ve come over here and so far I’ve had the chance to play. It’s been fun to be on the ice again and I want to show that I can play hockey as well as the tough stuff.

“It’s not the pace being slower. You have a couple of extra feet of ice so you can expose players that are coming at you. It also makes guys back off you a bit.

“In North America the guys are on you so fast and it’s just crazy running around. It’s good to skate with the puck without having guys all over you. It’s certainly more fun.”

Rosehill has already sampled what a packed Braehead Arena can offer in friendly action and in last weekend’s Challenge Cup overtime defeat to the Fife Flyers. With the season proper getting under way on Saturday night against the Nottingham Panthers, he is looking forward to getting used to a continental crowd.

“It’s certainly different. I know the crowds are like this overseas,” he said.

“It’s cool that they are always on their feet chanting even when there’s not a goal. We saw that on Sunday night [against Fife Flyers] the place doesn’t go quiet. We like that, it gives us adrenaline and energy. They can help us out.

“The biggest crowd I’ve probably played in front of is about 23,000 in Montreal against the Canadians. I think that’s about the biggest barn there is.

“Here may be smaller but it does generate so much noise. You’d rather have 3,000 or 4,000 people in a smaller arena chanting than 18,000 who are sitting on their hands. As long as they are making noise you notice it on the bench on the ice.”