Blake Kessel

Blake Kessel (born April 13, 1989) is an American retired professional ice hockey defenseman who most recently was coaching Ironbound Elite 16U Premier in the USA Hockey Women's 16U AA. He most recently played for the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL. He was selected by the New York Islanders in the 6th round (166th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Blake Kessel
Kessel with the Toronto Marlies
Born (1989-04-13) April 13, 1989
Verona, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for Adirondack Phantoms
Rockford IceHogs
Rochester Americans
Toronto Marlies
Ilves
Augsburger Panther
Milwaukee Admirals
HC Kosice
NHL Draft 166th overall, 2007
New York Islanders
Playing career 2011–2020

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. He appeared in 8 games with the Admirals before he was returned to the Wings.

In 2017, Kessel signed with HC Košice of the Tipsort liga in Slovakia. After playing with the HC Košice for a season, Kessel joined the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen for their 2018–19 training camp.[8] On February 17, 2019 Kessel was traded from Jacksonville to the Maine Mariners.[9]

International play
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  United States
World Junior A Challenge
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Trail

Kessel landed a spot on the US roster for the 2009 U20 World Championships.[10] In November 2015, he played for Team USA at the Deutschland-Cup in Augsburg.[11]

Personal life

Kessel was born to Phil (Sr.) and Kathy Kessel in Madison, Wisconsin.

He attended the University of New Hampshire, where he majored in sports studies and played with the New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey program.

Kessel comes from a family of professional athletes. His father played football for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. His brother, Phil Kessel, is the NHL "Ironman", having played over 1,000 consecutive regular season games, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion. His sister, Amanda Kessel, plays for the United States women's national ice hockey team and is a three-time Olympic medalist. His cousin, David Moss, previously played in the NHL for the Arizona Coyotes and the Calgary Flames.[1]

Kessel is married to Courtney Birchard-Kessel, a former star of the New Hampshire Wildcats and Brampton Thunder. She currently serves as associate head coach to the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey program.

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 — — — — —
2016–17 Atlanta Gladiators ECHL 22 7 16 23 8 — — — — —
2016–17 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 26 3 14 17 24 7 3 2 5 0
2016–17 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 8 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2017–18 HC Košice Slovak 54 7 18 25 6 5 0 1 1 0
2018–19 Jacksonville Icemen ECHL 7 1 2 3 2 — — — — —
2018–19 Maine Mariners ECHL 14 1 4 5 4 — — — — —
2019–20 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 22 3 4 7 12 — — — — —
AHL totals 85 3 24 27 18 — — — — —

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
Award Year
USHL Defenseman of the Year 2007–08 [12]
All-Hockey East First Team 2009–10 [12]
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2009–10
All-Hockey East First Team 2010–11 [13]
AHCA East First-Team All-American 2010–11

References
  1. "Blake Kessel player profile". University of New Hampshire. April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  2. Player's Profile: Blake Kessel
  3. New York Islanders Website: Blake Kessel
  4. "Kessel and Lukacevic bring experience to Condorstown". Bakersfield Condors. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. "Panther holen US-Defender Blake Kessel - News - Augsburger Panther". www.aev-panther.de. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  6. "Gladiators agree to terms with Buzzeo, Kessel". ECHL. September 27, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  7. "K-Wings trade for league's top-scoring defenseman, former Notre Dame forward". Kalamazoo Wings. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  8. Ruwe, Sarah (September 29, 2018). "Trio of D-Men Added to Camp Roster". jacksonvilleicemen.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  9. mainemariners (February 17, 2019). "MARINERS ACQUIRE KESSEL FROM JACKSONVILLE". Maine Mariners. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  10. "2009 U-S- National Junior Team Roster Announced". Team USA. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  11. "2015 Deutschland Cup Roster Announced". USA Hockey National. October 23, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  12. "Blake Kessel player biography". University of New Hampshire. February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  13. "Hockey East First-Team All-Stars". Hockey East. March 4, 2011. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
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