Blake Kessel is an American ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenseman. He was selected by the New York Islanders

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 in the 6th round (166th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft

2007 NHL Entry Draft

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at Nationwide Arena in the city of Columbus, Ohio, United States on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007...

. He signed an entry level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

.

Early life

Blake Kessel was born to Phil and Kathy Kessel in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

. He currently attends the University of New Hampshire and is majoring in sports studies. Blake comes from a long line of professional athletes. His brother, Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel

Philip Joseph Kessel, Jr. is an American professional ice hockey forward, and an alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League . Kessel is a product of USA Hockey's National Development Team and became that program's all-time leader for goals and points in his final...

, plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 of the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 (NHL), his sister Amanda Kessel

Amanda Kessel

Amanda Kessel is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She also plays for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program.-Playing career:...

 plays for the United States women's national ice hockey team, his father played football for the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 of the National Football League and the Calgary Stampeders

Calgary Stampeders

The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

 of the Canadian Football League, and his cousin, David Moss, plays for the Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

 (NHL).

Playing career

Blake 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.

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. Continuing the season to the playoffs, Kessel played in 11 games, adding 10 assists and 1 goal, for a total of 11 points.

Kessel also signed an entry level with the Philadelphia Flyers on September 14, 2011.

Awards

• USHL Defenseman of the Year (2007–08)
• 2009 World Junior National Tournament
• Hockey East All-Star First Team (2009–10)
• Hockey East First-Team All-Star (2010–11)

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...	Team	League		GP	G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...	A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...	Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one...	PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006–07	Waterloo Black Hawks	USHL United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...		59	11	27	38	38		9	1	5	6	8
2007–08	Waterloo Black Hawks	USHL United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...		59	19	38	57	26		11	1	10	11	12
2008–09	New Hampshire Wildcats New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East...	Hockey East Hockey East Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....		37	6	7	13	24
2009–10	New Hampshire Wildcats New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East...	Hockey East Hockey East Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....		38	10	28	38	28
2010–11	New Hampshire Wildcats New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East...	Hockey East Hockey East Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....		39	5	22	27	32

External links