Few players in the NHL have dealt with a rollercoaster-like career quite like
the one Phil Kessel has. From being drafted high in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft to
 his battle with cancer and subsequent trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs,
Kessel';s career started off with as many peaks as it had valleys. After a
tumultuous time in Toronto, Kessel';s trade to the Penguins seemed to finally
establish him as one of the most likable guys in the entire NHL. It also made
him a two-time Stanley Cup champion.

Let';s'; take it back a bit though and look at Kessel';s life and career as a
whole.

The 2008-09 regular season had been a great one for the Boston Bruins, and
especially for young forward Kessel.  After two mediocre seasons and
health-related setbacks, Kessel was finally coming into his own and showing why
 he was a highly regarded player that was once considered a possibility for the
 No. 1 overall draft pick.

Born on Oct. 2, 1987, in Madison Wisconsin, Kessel comes from a family of
athletes.  His father, Phil Kessel Sr. was a college quarterback and was
drafted by the Washington Redskins of the NFL.  His mother Kathy ran track in
college.

Phil';s brother Blake was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 6th round of
 the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and sister Amanda (more on her later) has made a name
 for herself as one of the very best women hockey players in the world, winning
 the 2007 under-19 national girls championship as a freshman with the famed
high school hockey program at Shattuck St. Mary';s in Faribault, Minnesota
prior to showcasing her talents in the NCAA, NWHL and at the Olympic level.Bob
Suter';s Influence on Kessel

For the majority of Phil';s early days in hockey, he played for the Madison
Capitols, coached by Bob Suter.  If you think you recognize that name it is
because Bob played for the 1980 USA "Miracle on Ice" team that won gold at the
 Olympics, but you may also recognize the name because of his younger brother
Gary Suter who had a stellar 17 year NHL career. You could also be thinking of
Bob';s son, Ryan Suter, who is a star defenseman with the Minnesota
Wild.[Related - The Bob Suter Story, The Power of Twenty](Photo: Rob Schumacher
 for USA TODAY)

Phil has, on many occasions, credited Bob Suter as a big reason why he is in
the NHL today.  Suter coached him from the time he was 7 years old up through
his early teenage years and credits Phil as the big reason the Madison Capitols
 thought they could win every game.

"They always knew Phil was there and he would always come through to get a goal
 or two to get us back in it or to win the game or set somebody else up to do
it," Suter said back in 2009. "He had great speed even when he was young
compared to a lot of other kids and he was just a natural goal scorer."

Ask Kessel about his most memorable moments as a youth hockey player and he
will tell you the year the Madison Capitols advanced all the way to the
triple-A bantam national title game.  While they lost the title game to the
bantam version of the L.A. Kings, it was still a great season for the team and
for Phil personally. During the 2001-02 season, Kessel, 14 years old at the
time, would finish with 186 goals and 286 points in 86 games.  It was around
this time that Phil';s coach Bob Suter knew he had a future star on his
hands.Making Strides as a Star

The following season Kessel would play for the midget triple-A version of the
Madison Capitols and finish the season with 113 goals and 158 points in 71
games.  After the season Kessel turned 16 and left Madison for Ann Arbor,
Michigan to play with the U.S. national team development program - a move that
would serve him well in the long-run.

In his first season, Kessel took the program by storm scoring 52 goals and 82
points in 62 games.  The following year he would be even better, matching his
goal total of 52 from the previous season and adding more assists for 98
points, but this time in only 47 games.  Kessel would also lead Team USA to
the gold medal at the 2005 World under-18 Championship with 9 goals and 16
points in only six games.Phil Kessel and Evgeny Kuznetsov (Charles LeClaire-USA
 TODAY Sports)

At this point in his early career, Kessel was being touted as a prospect
comparable to Sidney Crosby and one of the future superstars of the
NHL. Missing the cutoff for the 2005 draft by one month, Kessel was so
talented that he was projected to be the top overall pick by many in 2006.
Unfortunately, Kessel would experience a few setbacks during his 2005-06 
season that would hurt his status for the draft.

In 2005, Kessel decided to enroll at the University of Minnesota and play
hockey for the Golden Gophers.  The team that year was heavy on talent,
including Kessel';s future teammate in Boston, Blake Wheeler. The roster was so
 deep that Kessel was playing third line minutes with the team at times. 
While he had a very good season for a freshman with 18 goals and 51 points in
39 games, winning the Western Collegiate Hockey Association';s Rookie of the
Year honors, it was not as spectacular of a season as many expected from him
based on his domination at the World under-18 tournament that year and his
career with the U.S. development program.

Hurting his draft stock even more, he underwhelmed the hockey world at the 2006
 World Junior Championships.  Considered the most talented player on the team,
 Kessel would score only one goal, although he did add 10 assists, and the team
 finished in fourth place.Drafted High Nonetheless

While his stock may have dropped, Kessel was still considered a top prospect
and was drafted fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft
behind Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Niklas Backstrom.

Kessel made the Bruins as a 19-year-old and made his debut during the 2006-07
hockey season.  Unfortunately, not even halfway through the season, Kessel
would experience another setback. This time, unfortunately, that setback
extended far beyond the world of hockey.

In December of that year, Kessel was hospitalized for testicular cancer.  It
came as a shock to many in the organization and across the league that someone
so young would be stricken with something so devastating.  After treatment to
remove the cancer, Kessel would be declared cancer free and would return to the
 Bruins a month later in January missing only a handful of games.

It was one of the scariest times in recent memories for the Bruins and for
Kessel, but the situation was taken care of and all was well in the end. It was
 enlightening for Kessel as a person and has shaped his mindset, even to this
day.

Kessel would finish the season with 11 goals and 29 points in 70 games, hardly
top numbers for a rookie.  He did show flashes of his ability though, scoring
a hat-trick in the NHL';s Young Stars game, He also led rookies with four
shootout goals, all of which were the game-deciding goals.

At the end of the season, Kessel was awarded the Bill Masterson Memorial
Trophy (for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey).Looking
Towards the Future

Eager to put the setbacks of his past behind him, Kessel was ready to start the
 2007-08 season fresh.  He improved in every category scoring 19 goals, 37
points even improved in an increasingly frowned-upon stat in plus/minus as he
recorded a minus-6 rating compared to the minus-12 rating he had from the year
before.  The Bruins were also improving as a team and made the playoffs for
the first time since the 2003-04 season.  It was in the playoffs, however,
that Kessel appeared to be blossoming.  While the Bruins did not advance,
Kessel would score 3 goals and 4 points in the 4 games and was one of the
Bruins'; best players.Phil Kessel in Boston prior to trade

Kessel carried over his success to the 2008-09 season.  Through 67 games,
Kessel has scored 31 goals, 54 points and is a plus-19 rating.  His Bruins
have clinched the Eastern Conference title and are looking to make a serious
run in this year';s playoffs.  It appeared that Kessel had arrived and the sky
 was the limit for future production. Things didn';t go quite so simply,
however, as trade rumors began to swirl. Kessel was eventually traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal that shook up the Atlantic Division and would
have lasting effects for years to come.Trade to the Maple Leafs and Struggles
With Media

After being traded to Toronto, Kessel';s status as a star was cemented in the
NHL. An instant star with the Maple Leafs, Kessel never scored less than 20
goals with the team in his six seasons with the team, including the
lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. From his last season in Boston to his
penultimate season in Toronto, Kessel scored over 30 goals in five consecutive
full seasons (omitting the 2012-13 season for obvious reasons), four of which
coming with Toronto in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013-14.

Still, despite Kessel';s ability to score and produce points at an elite level,
 the Maple Leafs struggles continued year in and year out. In his time with the
 Maple Leafs, the franchise only made the postseason one time in 2013. To
Kessel';s credit, he did score four goals and six points in seven games. Losing
 the series (especially in the form of a massive collapse against his former
team in the Bruins) led many to point figures at some of the bigger names and
bigger contracts on the team as problems, however.Is Phil Kessel';s new
play-making style deserving of mid-season awards? (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

While Kessel was far from the problem on the Maple Leafs roster, the string of
consecutive unsuccessful seasons coupled with his inability to handle major
media outlets led to a constant struggle between Kessel and the media. Some
people simply aren';t able to cope with the pressure of large media markets
such as Toronto, Montreal or otherwise. While Kessel proved to be an elite
player in the NHL, his days with the Maple Leafs soon became numbered. That
ultimately led to his trade from Toronto to Pittsburgh in a move that
ultimately changes his career and accelerated the rebuild for Toronto in the
process.Penguins Star and Rising

When Kessel was traded to the Penguins, he quickly became a fan-favorite. His
skillset blended well with the team as well and his status as a star seemed
better understood in a smaller market than Toronto. Staying consistent with his
 career totals, Kessel scored 26 goals and 59 points and played in every game
of the season (something he';d done in each of the previous five seasons and
eight times in his career, not including the 2017-18 season which could make it
 eight consecutive seasons and nine total).Phil Kessel and Evgeny Kuznetsov
(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Since joining the Penguins, Phil Kessel has scored a total of 83 goals and 221
points in 246 games. He even scored a career-high 92 points with the Penguins
in 2017-18 and tallied over 30 goals for the first time since 2013-14.

Even in his championship years, however, Kessel';s history with Cancer hasn';t
taken a back seat. Rather, it';s maintained its spot at the forefront of his
mind.

When watching Phil Kessel - both on and off the ice, it';s not hard to see why
he';s such a fan-favorite across the NHL. With a lot of time still left ahead
of him in his career, it';s nice to see that Kessel has found a home in
Pittsburgh.Amanda Kessel Shining

While many focus on Phil as one of the best hockey players on the planet, it';s
 often forgotten that his sister is as good a hockey player as it gets as well.
 Amanda Kessel, the star US-born player, has found success at just about every
level of hockey she';s played at. Whether it be the NCAA, the NWHL or on the
international level.

How much success has she had? On an individual level, Kessel scored a
remarkable 108 goals and 248 points in 136 games while playing for the
University of Minnesota. That';s 0.79 goals per game and a jaw-dropping 1.82
points per game. It';s no surprise then that she is also a three-time NCAA
champion, winning the title with Minnesota in 201-12, 2012-13 and
2015-16.Meghan Huertas of the Connecticut Whale defends against Amanda Kessel
of the New York Riveters. (Photo Credit: Troy Parla)

At the NWHL level, Kessel, the league';s highest-paid player in 2016-17, scored
 four goals and 18 points in eight games, good for 2.25 points per game while
also adding an assist in one postseason game that season. Kessel has also
scored three goals and six points in five Olympic contests, six goals and 24
points in 15 World Championship games as well as 10 goals and 30 points in 10
World Junior Championships U18 games. There';s simply no questioning the impact
 that Kessel has on the ice.

Not only has Amanda Kessel represented the United States multiple times, but
she';s also a proven champion at the international level as well. Competing in
the Olympics as well as the World Championships, Kessel took home a gold medal
from the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, a silver medal from
the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia as well as two gold medal in 2013 and
2017 at the World Championships and another silver medal in 2012.

Both Phil and Amanda have found a great deal of success in their career.
Whether it runs in the genes or not, it';s impressive that the siblings have
both become faces in their respective leagues in the same sport.

Did You Know?

Kessel has the record for career goals and points with the U.S. National
Development Program - 104 goals and 180 pointsTied for single-season goal
record with Patrick Kane - 52 goals (US National team)Kessel is the United
States National Under-18 Team';s all-time leader with goals 16, assists 10 and
points 26Kessel is the first rookie to win the Bill Masterson Memorial
TrophyKessel tied with Ed Olczyk for the longest point streak by a U.S.-born
player in NHL history (18 games) prior to Patrick Kane beating the record in
2015. He had 14 goals and 14 assists, 28 points, on that run.Prior to his trade
 from Boston, he had 9 game-deciding shootout goals in his NHL career, the most
 of any Bruin.

The post Phil Kessel - Biography appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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