Philip Joseph Kessel, Jr. (born October 2, 1987 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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 2004–05 year. Kessel finished his junior career by playing collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota in...
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Philip Joseph Kessel, Jr. (born October 2, 1987 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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 2004–05 year. Kessel finished his junior career by playing collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota in the WCHA. He was the fifth-overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, taken by the Bruins. In his rookie 2006–07 NHL season he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Kessel had an outstanding 2004–05 junior season, one in which many NHL scouts ranked him as a prospect comparable to Sidney Crosby (and one of The Next Ones). Born in October, Kessel missed the 2005 NHL Entry Draft cutoff by only one month. However, in 2005–06, Kessel experienced several setbacks that hurt his ranking as a prospect. Considered the most talented player on...
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