Blake Kessel
| Blake Kessel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 13, 1989 Verona, WI, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| DEL team Former teams |
Augsburger Panther Adirondack Phantoms Rochester Americans Tampereen Ilves | ||
| NHL Draft |
166th overall, 2007 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
Competitor for  United States
| ||
| World Junior A Challenge | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2007 Trail | |
Blake Kessel (born April 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who currently plays for the Augsburger Panther in Germany.
He used to play for Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the New York Islanders in the 6th round (166th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
Early life
Kessel was born to Phil and Kathy Kessel in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended the University of New Hampshire and majored in sports studies. Blake comes from a long line of professional athletes. His brother, Phil Kessel, plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL), his sister Amanda Kessel plays for the United States women's national ice hockey team, his father played football for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, and his cousin, David Moss, plays for the Arizona Coyotes (NHL).[1]
Playing career
Kessel has been described as an offensive minded defenseman, who likes to join the offensive rush, which has been attributed to his speed and skill.[2]
In Kessel's first season with the Waterloo Black Hawks, he played in 59 games, scoring 11 goals and accumulating 27 assists, for a total of 38 points. In his last season with the Black Hawks, Kessel led all defensemen in scoring with 57 points, scoring 19 goals and notching 38 assists in 59 games.[1] Continuing the season to the playoffs, Kessel played in 11 games, adding 10 assists and 1 goal, for a total of 11 points.[3]
Kessel signed an entry level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on September 14, 2011. After spending two seasons playing for the team's minor league affiliates, the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL, the Flyers did not give Kessel a qualifying offer making him an unrestricted free agent.
On October 22, 2013, Kessel signed with the Bakersfield Condors.[4]
On September 28, 2014, the Toronto Marlies announced that they had signed Kessel to an AHL contract. He was assigned to the Orlando Solar Bears, the Leafs' ECHL affiliate, on October 12, 2014. Kessel then landed a job in Finland and finished the 2014-15 season with Tampereen Ilves.
He remained on the Ilves team until February 2016 and then took up an offer from German top-tier club Augsburger Panther, signing a contract until the end of the 2015-16 season.[5]
International career
Kessel landed a spot on the US roster for the 2009 U20 World Championships.[6] In November 2015, he played for Team USA at the Deutschland-Cup in Augsburg.[7]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 59 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 38 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 59 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 26 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 2008–09 | New Hampshire Wildcats | HE | 37 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | New Hampshire Wildcats | HE | 38 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | New Hampshire Wildcats | HE | 39 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 56 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Trenton Titans | ECHL | 54 | 8 | 33 | 41 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Bakersfield Condors | ECHL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Orlando Solar Bears | ECHL | 43 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 2013–14 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 74 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | United States | WJC | 5th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honors
References
- 1 2 3 UNH Men's Ice Hockey Website: Blake Kessel
- ↑ Player's Profile: Blake Kessel
- ↑ New York Islanders Website: Blake Kessel
- ↑ "Kessel and Lukacevic bring experience to Condorstown". Bakersfield Condors. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ↑ "Panther holen US-Defender Blake Kessel - News - Augsburger Panther". www.aev-panther.de. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ↑ "2009 U-S- National Junior Team Roster Announced". Team USA. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ↑ "2015 Deutschland Cup Roster Announced". USA Hockey National. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- 1 2 "Blake Kessel player biography". University of New Hampshire. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ↑ "Hockey East First-Team All-Stars". Hockey East. 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
External links
- Blake Kessel's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
- Blake Kessel's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database