Blake Kessel

Player

Birthday April 13, 1989

Birth Sign Aries

Birthplace Verona, Wisconsin, U.S.

Age 34 years old

Nationality United States

Height 6′ 2″

Weight 210 lbs

#47342 Most Popular

1989

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.

2007

He was selected by the New York Islanders in the 6th round (166th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

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.

2009

Kessel landed a spot on the US roster for the 2009 U20 World Championships.

2011

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.

2013

On October 22, 2013, Kessel signed with the Bakersfield Condors.

2014

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.

2015

In November 2015, he played for Team USA at the Deutschland-Cup in Augsburg.

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.

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.

2016

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.

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.

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.

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.

2017

In 2017, Kessel signed with HC Košice of the Tipsort liga in Slovakia.

2018

After playing with the HC Košice for a season, Kessel joined the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen for their 2018–19 training camp.

2019

On February 17, 2019 Kessel was traded from Jacksonville to the Maine Mariners.