Amanda Kessel

Amanda Kessel
Born	August 28, 1991 Madison, WI, USA
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight	140 lb (64 kg; 10 st 0 lb)
Position	Forward
Shoots	Right
NWHL team	New York Riveters
National team	United States
Playing career	2016–present
Medal record Representing  United States Women's ice hockey Olympic Games 2014 Sochi Tournament IIHF World Women's Championships 2013 Canada Tournament 2012 United States Tournament

Amanda Kessel (born August 28, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey player for the New York Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League. She is also a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She played four seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program (2010–2011 through 2012–13, and 2015–16).

Playing career

Prior to high school, she participated for the Madison Capitols Bantam boys’ team in 2005–06 and helped the team to state and regional championships. Kessel attended Shattuck St. Mary's in Minnesota. The 2007 edition of the team captured the U-19 national championship, while Kessel marked 102 points in 56 games. In her junior year, Kessel registered 44 goals and 56 assists for 100 points. She accomplished the 100 point mark in just 34 games and won her second consecutive U-19 national championship. She tallied 122 points (67 goals and 55 assists in just 46 games) in her final season. She was the team leader by 61 points.

NCAA

• October 1, 2010: In her first game as a Golden Gopher, Amanda Kessel registered four points (two goals, two assists). The following day, Kessel scored the game-winning goal as the Gophers won by a 3–0 score. The game against Clarkson marked the first time in school history that the Gophers opened a season against a ranked opponent.^[1]
• On December 10, Amanda Kessel assisted on a career-high four goals in a conference victory over visiting Ohio State. The Gophers enjoyed a 6–0 win.^[2]
• November 18, 2010: Kessel registered five points (including four goals^[3]) as the Golden Gophers defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats by an 11–0 tally. New Hampshire starting goalie Jenn Gilligan made 27 saves but allowed eight goals in two periods. She was replaced by Moe Bradley in the third period. Bradley stopped 11 of 14 shots as the Wildcats suffered their worst loss in the 35 year history of the program.^[4]
• November 19: Kessel earned her second hat trick of the series as the Gophers defeated New Hampshire by a 6–1 tally.^[5]
• September 10, 2014, the Golden Gophers announced that Kessel would sit out the 2014-15 season as a result of lingering concussion symptoms she had sustained while playing for Team USA.^[6]
• July 21, 2015: the Golden Gophers announced that Kessel would not be playing hockey for the 2015-16 season due to health reasons. Because she had previously taken a redshirt year on two prior occasions, she will no longer be eligible to play college hockey.^[7]
• February 3, 2016: The Golden Gophers announced that Kessel returned to the team. Despite earlier prognoses, she continued working to gain clearance from doctors to play hockey and succeeded late in the 2015-2016 season in time for the February 5-6 series against North Dakota.^[8]

Team USA

As a member of the U.S. Women's National Team, Kessel has won a medal at all the international tournaments she has participated in:^[9]

• Silver medalist at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia
• Gold medalist at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship in Ottawa, Canada
• Silver medalist at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship in Burlington, Vermont
• Gold medalist at the 2011 and 2012 Four Nations Cup

Prior to being named to the U.S. Women's National Team, Kessel was a member of both the United States Under-22 Team and Under-18 Team. Kessel played for the United States Under-18 in 2009, and was named the World Under 18 tournament’s most valuable forward. She scored six goals and 13 assists for 19 points to lead Team USA to a gold medal. In the 2008 Under 18 World Championships, she played in five games with Team USA and tallied 11 points, ranking third among all players in scoring. Kessel was named to the US team that participated in the 2010 Four Nations Cup. She did not play due to injury.^[10]

NWHL

Kessel was never drafted by a National Women's Hockey League team; league rules stipulate that a college player must be entering her senior year to be drafted, and Kessel's junior season was completed in 2013, before the league existed. Instead, she signed as a free-agent with the New York Riveters on May 1, 2016.^[11] Her contract of $26,000 was the largest NWHL contract to date.^[11]

Awards

• WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Week of October 12, 2011)^[12]
• WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Week of November 21, 2011)^[13]
• WCHA Offensive Player of the Week (Week of February 8, 2012)^[14]
• 2013 Patty Kazmaier Award (Collegiate National Player of the Year)^[15]
• 2014 Olympic Silver Medalist^[16]

Personal

Her older brother Phil Kessel was drafted fifth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins and now plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like his sister, he also competes internationally for Team USA, winning a silver medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her middle brother, Blake Kessel, was an All-American at the University of New Hampshire. He left after his junior year to play for the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms. He is currently with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Her father Phil Sr. was drafted by the Washington Redskins, and stayed on the injured reserve for one year.

External links

• Player profile page at Minnesota - Amanda Kessel

References

1. USCHO Staff Report (October 1, 2010). "Kessel posts 4 points as Minnesota blanks Clarkson". USCHO. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
2. "Amanda Kessel bio". Gopher Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
3. "Gophers Win 11–0 Against New Hampshire – University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site". Gophersports.com. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
4. "University of New Hampshire Official Athletics Website:Gilligan Records 27 Saves In Two Periods; Women's Hockey Loses 11–0 At No. 2 Minnesota". UNHWildcats.com. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
5. "Kessel Gets Second Hat Trick of the Weekend, Gophers Sweep New Hampshire – University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site". Gophersports.com. 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
6. "U.S. hockey player out for college season with concussion". USA Today. September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
7. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (July 21, 2015). "Gopher star Kessel won't play senior season". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
8. Leahy, Sean (February 3, 2016). "Amanda Kessel, concussion-free, set to return to Minnesota lineup". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
9. "Team USA - Amanda Kessel". USA Hockey. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
10. "The Official Website of Hockey Canada". Canadianhockey.ca. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
11. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/amanda-kessel-signs-one-year-deal-with-nhwl-s-new-york-riveters-194022119.html
12. "WCHA Press Releases". WCHA.com. 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
13. http://www.wcha.com/women/pres1112/201111/nov23wpw.pdf
14. http://www.wcha.com/women/pres1112/201202/feb8wpw.pdf
15. Matthew Semisch, NCAA.com (2013-03-23). "Minnesota's Kessel wins Kazmaier Award". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
16. "Team Usa". USA Hockey. Retrieved July 13, 2014.