"From a hockey standpoint, the most beautiful person in the Avalanche organization isn't a woman.

It is defenseman Shane O'Brien.

"He's a definition of a beauty," Avs defenseman Kyle Quincey said of the mile-a-minute talker and jokester.

Definitions may vary, but the common thread of a hockey beauty is a tough guy who "puts a smile on your face whenever you're around him," Avs forward TJ Galiardi said.

O'Brien, 28, has what Ian Laperriere brought to the team from 2005-09 before the forward signed a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. They are extraordinarily personable, two guys who love being at a rink and in a locker room, and talk about anything that's on their minds. On game nights, they stick up for teammates and are seemingly unafraid of anything.

They are warriors with a soft side. A joke waiting to happen and a Canadian "eh?" completing each sentence.

"Shane O'Brien, in a nutshell. That's a beauty," defenseman Kyle Quincey said. "He wears his heart on his sleeve and is very passionate. He's definitely not afraid to make plays and speak his mind. We were in desperate need of that around here, and he's been a great addition to our squad."

O'Brien, from Port Hope, Ontario, played for Nashville last season and Vancouver, Tampa Bay and Anaheim before that in an improbable 423-game NHL career (he was the 250th selection in the 2003 draft). He missed four games recently because of a knee injury but returned to the lineup in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime victory over Florida. Nicknamed "O.B." or "Beauty," O'Brien didn't play in last week's three-game road trip, but he flew to Phoenix for the final game of the trip against the Coyotes on Monday to skate with the scratches and assistant coaches."