Amanda Kessel

Amanda Kessel
Born (1991-08-28) 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 2016present

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

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]

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

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.

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. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. 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. 1 2 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.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Brianna Decker
2011–12
Patty Kazmaier Award Winner
2012–13
Succeeded by
Jamie Lee Rattray
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