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 | ||
| AHL team Former teams |
Milwaukee Admirals Kalamazoo Wings Atlanta Gladiators Adirondack Phantoms Rockford IceHogs Rochester Americans Toronto Marlies Ilves Augsburger Panther | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft |
166th overall, 2007 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Blake Kessel (born April 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with the Milwaukee Admirals of the 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]
In the following off-season, Kessel returned to North America to continue in the ECHL, signing a one-year deal with the Atlanta Gladiators on September 27, 2016.[6] Tallying seven goals and 16 assists in 22 games for the Atlanta team, he was the league's top-scoring defenseman, when he was traded to the Kalamazoo Wings on November 28, 2016.[7] On December 3, 2016 Kessel was signed to a professional tryout contract by the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing United States
| ||
| World Junior A Challenge | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2007 Trail | |
Kessel landed a spot on the US roster for the 2009 U20 World Championships.[8] In November 2015, he played for Team USA at the Deutschland-Cup in Augsburg.[9]
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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Orlando Solar Bears | ECHL | 37 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Ilves | Liiga | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Ilves | Liiga | 41 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Augsburger Panther | DEL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 77 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 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 "Blake Kessel player profile". University of New Hampshire. April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
- ↑ Player's Profile: Blake Kessel
- ↑ New York Islanders Website: Blake Kessel Archived December 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Gladiators agree to terms with Buzzeo, Kessel". ECHL. 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ↑ "K-Wings trade for league's top-scoring defenseman, former Notre Dame forward". Kalamazoo Wings. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ↑ "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. February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. 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