Kessel during his tenure with the Boston Bruins
Born	October 2, 1987 (1987-10-02) (age 22), Madison, WI, US
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team F. teams	Toronto Maple Leafs Boston Bruins
Ntl. team	United States
NHL Draft	5th overall, 2006 Boston Bruins
Pro career	2006 – present

Philip Joseph Kessel, Jr. (born October 2, 1987 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Kessel is a product of USA Hockey's National Development Team and became that program's all-time leader for goals and points in his final 2004–05 year. Kessel finished his junior career by playing collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota in the WCHA. He was the fifth-overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, taken by the Bruins. In his rookie 2006–07 NHL season he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

[edit] Junior career

Kessel had an outstanding 2004–05 junior season, one in which many NHL scouts ranked him as a prospect comparable to Sidney Crosby^[1] (and one of The Next Ones^[2]). Born in October, Kessel missed the 2005 NHL Entry Draft cutoff by only one month. However, in 2005–06, Kessel experienced several setbacks that hurt his ranking as a prospect. Considered the most talented player on the favored United States team in the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, he scored only one goal and the team finished in fourth. His college performance was less spectacular than expected; by season's end he was playing third-line minutes for a loaded Minnesota Golden Gophers squad, though he did score 18 goals and finish with 51 total points, a solid season for a freshman forward. Future Boston Bruin forward Blake Wheeler was a teammate of Kessel at the University of Minnesota, during the 2005–06 collegiate ice hockey season.

Kessel was still viewed highly enough that he was drafted 5^th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. Prior to the draft he dropped in ranking from first to second place among the North American skaters and in the final ranking he was ranked fifth among the North American skaters. At one point during his draft year he was projected to be the number 1 overall pick but was ultimately surpassed by Erik Johnson and then continued to drop.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Boston Bruins

On August 17, 2006, the Bruins announced that Phil signed a multi-year entry-level contract, reportedly worth the rookie maximum of $850,000.

On December 11, 2006, his family announced that Kessel was hospitalized for a reason unrelated to hockey. Later during the day, Bob Lobel, a sportscaster in the region of Boston, confirmed that Phil was diagnosed with a form of testicular cancer.^[3]

On December 16, 2006, Phil was announced cancer-free. On January 5, 2007, he was assigned to Providence for conditioning purposes^[4] and then recalled on January 7. Kessel returned to the Bruins line-up on January 9, against the Ottawa Senators, after missing only 11 regular season games following cancer surgery.

Phil was named to the 2007 NHL YoungStars game which took place in Dallas, Texas on January 23, 2007. He recorded a hat trick (including a unique powerplay with a game winning goal) and an assist during this game in a 9-8 Eastern Conference victory.^[5]

While Phil was not among top rookies in goals or assists, he became second among rookies with four shootout goals (4 of 7). Each goal was a game-deciding one that brought his team a win.

On March 31, 2007, Boston Herald's author Stephen Harris reported that Phil Kessel was voted by Boston writers as the team's candidate for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey).^[6] Later, on June 14, at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, NHL announced that Phil had been officially selected as the recipient of the 2007 Masterton award.

His first shootout goal of the 2007–08 NHL season came on October 20, 2007, playing in Boston against the New York Rangers, and was the only goal scored in that game. He repeated that feat against the Rangers in Boston on January 19, 2008, as a game-winning shootout goal. Once again, on February 8, 2008, Kessel scored the only shootout goal in an "away" game against the Buffalo Sabres, winning the game with a 3-2 "come-from-behind" score for the Bruins.

To start the Bruins' 2008–09 NHL season, Phil scored the very first Bruins goal of the season on October 9, 2008, playing against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period of the Colorado team's home opener, that resulted in the Bruins 5-4 victory. Kessel closed out the regular season on a high note, scoring his second career hat trick in the April 12, 2009 6-2 visitors' victory against the New York Islanders^[7], and amassing the highest number of NHL regular season goals so far in his young career with 36, the most on the Bruins team for the season.

After the defeat of the Bruins in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference semi-finals series by the Carolina Hurricanes, it was reported that Kessel would need off-season shoulder surgery, most likely caused during the March 10, 2009 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The surgery was successfully performed^[8] on May 21, 2009, with recuperation from the surgery causing Kessel to miss the start of the 2009–10 NHL season.^[9]

[edit] Toronto Maple Leafs

On September 18, 2009, the Boston Bruins traded Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he quickly signed a five-year, $27 million contract. The Leafs gave Boston their first and second round Entry Draft selections in 2010, as well as a first round Entry Draft pick in 2011.^[10]

On November 3, 2009, Kessel made his debut as a Leaf against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kessel had a total of 10 shots on goal in the game, a career high, however he was not able to record any assists or goals. Despite not recording any points, Kessel still received the third star of the game honor. During the game, he was the recipient of a clean, open ice hit from Lightning defenseman Mattias Öhlund; he left the ice for evaluation, but returned to action later that night as the Leafs fell to the Lightning 2–1 in overtime. Kessel scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf on November 7, 2009 in a 5–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Air Canada Centre. On December 6th, 2009 Kessel will play against his former team the Boston Bruins, the first time as a Maple Leaf.

[edit] Personal life

Both of Kessel's parents were athletes: father Phil Kessel, Sr., a college quarterback, attended Northern Michigan University from 1976–1981, he was drafted by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL), spending his first year on the injured reserve and then released. His mother Kathy ran track in college. Not only were his parents athletically inclined but the entire Kessel family features successful athletes. Phil has an older cousin that plays in the NHL, David Moss, who currently plays for the Calgary Flames. His brother Blake, a defenseman, was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, in the sixth round, 166th overall, now playing for the University of New Hampshire. Their sister Amanda also plays hockey, and she was the top scorer, with six goals and 13 assists for the gold medal-winning Team USA, at the 2009 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship.^[11]

[edit] Awards and honors

• 2005: Bob Johnson Award at the USA Hockey Annual Congress (for excellence in international hockey competition during a specific season of play)^[12]
• 2005-06: WCHA Rookie of the Year, WCHA All-Rookie Team, MacNaughton Cup
• 2006-07: Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, Played in the NHL YoungStars game
• 2008-09: NHL "First Star" of the Week (8–14 December 2008) with 8 points (3 goals and 5 assists) in four games.

[edit] Records

• USA Hockey’s National Development Team's franchise record for most career goals: 104
• USA Hockey’s National Development Team's franchise record for most career points: 180
• USA Hockey’s National Development Team's single-season record for goals: 52 (shared with Patrick Kane)
• United States National U18 Team's All-Time leader for points (26), goals (16) and assists (10) in 12 games during 2004–2005 World Junior Ice Hockey U18 Championships

• Boston Bruins' franchise record for most game-deciding shootout goals in a career: 9
• The first NHL rookie to be honored with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
• Tied with Ed Olczyk for the longest point streak by a U.S.-born player in NHL history (18 games). He had 14 goals and 14 assists, 28 points, on that run.

[edit] Milestones

• Played his first NHL game October 6, 2006, vs. Florida Panthers
• Recorded his first NHL point October 7, 2006, vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, assisting on a goal by Brad Boyes
• Scored his first NHL goal October 21, 2006, vs. Buffalo Sabres

• Scored his first NHL hat trick October 12, 2007, vs. Los Angeles Kings
• 100th NHL point December 18, 2008, vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• 200th NHL game February 7, 2009, vs. Philadelphia Flyers

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] International play

Kessel played for the United States in:

• 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships (All-Star Team)
• 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
• 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships (Best Forward, All-Star Team, Leading Scorer)
• 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (Leading Scorer)
• 2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
• 2007 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
• 2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships

Kessel played for the United States in:

• Four Nations Cup U17 (November 7-9, 2003, Magnitogorsk, Russia), 1^st place, recorded 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 3 games
• Five Nations Cup U18 (February 10-13, 2005, Tjorn, Sweden), 1^st place, recorded 6 points (5 goals, 1 assist) in 4 games

He also participated in two U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camps (2005, 2006)

[edit] International statistics

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Press releases:
  • Bruins sign Phil Kessel to multi-year contract. Aug 17, 2006
  • Phil Kessel Honored as 2007 Masterton Recipient. Jun 14, 2007
  • Leafs Obtain Kessel From Bruins. Sep 18, 2009
• Profiles:
  • Phil Kessel's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
  • Toronto Maple Leafs. Phil Kessel
  • National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA). Phil Kessel. Retrieved 15 Nov 2009
  • Minnesota Golden Gophers. Phil Kessel. Retrieved 17 Aug 2006
• USA Hockey:
  • US Hockey Report. USHR
  • 2008 USA Men's National Hockey Team Media Guide