BOSTON -- Pittsburgh Penguins and Team USA head coach Dan Bylsma on Monday gave Bruins defenseman Torey Krug a strong endorsement for a possible spot on the men’s hockey roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

With the Penguins in town to face the Bruins, Bylsma was asked if he’s paid attention to the play of Krug this season.

“I can, without hesitation, say he has been mentioned and talked about a little bit based on how he’s played, the start he’s had and what he’s done so far through 23 games,” Bylsma said. “So, yeah, we’ve been watching. We’ve got a lot of people out watching hockey games live and on tape. We’ve certainly made note of how he’s been playing and what he’s done on the back end.”

Krug, along with teammates Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller, are currently the only Americans on the Bruins roster. Krug, a 22-year-old Michigan native, was a major contributor during the Bruins’ postseason run to the Stanley Cup finals last spring. This season, he has six goals and eight assists for 14 points, while posting a plus-5 rating in 23 games.

The Bruins could have numerous players representing their countries in Sochi, including Tuukka Rask (Finland), Patrice Bergeron (Canada), Loui Eriksson (Sweden), David Krejci (Czech), Zdeno Chara (Slovakia) and Dennis Seidenberg (Germany).

Bruins coach Claude Julien will serve as an assistant for Team Canada.