58 Facts About Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Arizona Coyotes.

Phil Kessel is a product of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program as an identified elite player under the age of 18.

Phil Kessel finished his amateur career playing collegiate hockey in the NCAA for the University of Minnesota in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference.

Phil Kessel was then selected fifth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

In 2009, Phil Kessel was traded from Boston to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he spent six seasons before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015.

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Phil Kessel won his first and second Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in back to back seasons with wins over the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators, respectively.

Phil Kessel plays internationally for the United States, and has played at three World Championships and the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal in 2010 and being named the top forward in 2014.

Phil Kessel was drafted fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Phil Kessel subsequently signed an entry level contract with the team on August 17,2006, thereby forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

On December 11,2006, Phil Kessel's family announced that he was hospitalized for a reason unrelated to hockey, and WBZ-TV reported that Phil Kessel was diagnosed with a form of testicular cancer.

Phil Kessel was named to the 2007 NHL YoungStars Game in Dallas on January 23,2007.

At the 2007 NHL Awards Ceremony at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Phil Kessel was officially selected as the recipient of the 2007 Masterton Trophy.

Phil Kessel set a Bruins career record with 9 shootout-deciding goals, surpassed by Patrice Bergeron seven years later.

Phil Kessel tied Ed Olczyk for longest point streak by an American-born NHL player in late 2008.

Phil Kessel played an integral role in Boston's run during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, leading the Bruins with six goals before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games.

Phil Kessel was sidelined for the first month of the season with a shoulder injury incurred the year before that required surgery.

Finally, on November 3,2009, Phil Kessel made his much-anticipated debut as a Leaf against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Phil Kessel had a total of ten shots on goal in the game, a career-high, though he did not record any assists or goals.

December 5,2009, marked the first time that Phil Kessel played against his former team, the Bruins, at TD Garden.

In six games at the Olympics, Phil Kessel tallied a goal and an assist as the US won a silver medal, falling to Canada in the final.

That season, Phil Kessel was named an NHL All-Star and was selected to Team Chara in the eighth round of the Fantasy Draft by Toronto linemate Joffrey Lupul.

On February 6,2012, Phil Kessel reached the 300-point plateau after a three-point performance against the Edmonton Oilers.

Phil Kessel finished the season with 37 goals and 82 points, both new career-highs, and both placed him sixth in the NHL.

Phil Kessel would go on to finish seventh in NHL scoring, posting his second consecutive point-per-game season.

On October 1,2013, Phil Kessel signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension, which was the largest contract in Maple Leafs' franchise history at the time.

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On February 1,2014, Phil Kessel scored his fifth career hat-trick, which was his 30th goal of the season, marking the fifth time he has had scored at least 30 goals in one season in the NHL.

Phil Kessel finished with five goals and three assists for eight points in six games to lead the tournament in scoring, was named to the tournament All-Star Team and earned Best Forward honors.

On December 19,2015, Phil Kessel played his 500th consecutive game, becoming the 23rd player in league history to reach this milestone.

On June 12,2016, Phil Kessel won the Stanley Cup after defeating the San Jose Sharks in six games.

Phil Kessel played on a line with Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin that was the most effective line for the Penguins in the playoffs.

Phil Kessel led the Penguins in playoff scoring with 10 goals and 22 points and led the team in shots with 98.

Phil Kessel narrowly missed winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, falling short of teammate and captain Sidney Crosby by three points.

Phil Kessel then returned to Toronto, bringing the trophy to SickKids Hospital to share it with patients and their families.

When Phil Kessel won his second championship trophy he took pictures of himself eating hot dogs out of the Stanley Cup.

From February 1 to March 5,2019, Phil Kessel did not score a goal in 16 games, which was the longest goal-drought in his entire career.

On March 19,2019, Phil Kessel played in his 320th consecutive game for the Penguins, passing Craig Adams for the longest in their history.

On June 29,2019, Phil Kessel was traded from Pittsburgh to the Arizona Coyotes along with Dane Birks and a fourth-round pick, in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

On May 7,2021, Phil Kessel scored his 900th point in the NHL, a breakaway goal against the San Jose Sharks.

Phil Kessel was able to continue his iron man streak through the COVID-19 pandemic, and dressed for the first shift of a March 8,2022 road game against the Detroit Red Wings before leaving to take a special chartered flight back to Arizona to be present for the birth of his first child.

Phil Kessel initially intended to play the entire game before leaving, but was encouraged by coach Andre Tourigny to depart earlier.

Phil Kessel took over as the player with the longest active streak.

Phil Kessel represented the United States in international competition for the first time when his under-17 National Team Development Program squad played at the 2004 World U17 Hockey Challenge finishing fourth.

Phil Kessel finished the tournament fourth overall in points and second overall in goals.

Later in 2004, Phil Kessel played as an underaged player at the IIHF World U18 Championship, where the US won silver.

Phil Kessel finished with ten points in six games, leading the tournament in goals and being named to the tournament all-star team.

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In 2005, Phil Kessel participated in the World U18 Championship, this time winning a gold medal.

Phil Kessel finished with nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in six games, leading the tournament in all said offensive statistics.

Phil Kessel was named the tournament's best forward and was named to the tournament All-Star Team.

Phil Kessel then played in the 2006 World Junior Championship, where the US finished fourth for the second-straight year.

Phil Kessel made his debut in senior international competition in 2006, when he competed at the 2006 IIHF World Championship in Riga.

Phil Kessel improved on his performance at the previous World Championship, scoring two goals and five assists in seven games.

Phil Kessel competed at the World Championship for the third time in the 2008 edition held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Quebec City.

In 2010, Phil Kessel played for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

On January 1,2014, after the completion of the 2014 Winter Classic, Phil Kessel was announced as a member of the 2014 Olympic Team and went on to compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Phil Kessel stated that his comments were not directed at anyone, and that he didn't mean any disrespect towards anyone.

An avid poker player in his free time, Phil Kessel often plays high stakes tournaments, casino cash games and home games with his teammates.

Phil Kessel has played in the World Series of Poker every year since 2012, entering high stakes tournaments with entry fees as high as $25,000.

Phil Kessel is good friends with professional poker player Daniel Negreanu, who himself has nearly $40 million in live poker tournament winnings.