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Last night in San Jose, Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel played in his 990th consecutive regular-season game, breaking the NHL record set by Keith Yandle last season. Given the 35-year-old Kessel’s relatively soft physique and legendarily questionable diet, his ascension to the title of NHL Ironman has to be one of the most improbable feats in hockey. But there’s more to Kessel than meets the eye. In honour of his consecutive-games streak and his 400th NHL goal, which he scored last night, here are a few fun Phil facts:
He’s an incredible athlete… Kessel’s doughy (for a pro hockey player) 5-foot-11, 208-pound body and receding hairline belie some serious physical gifts. Before entering the NHL, the talented Wisconsinite was touted as the next great American star. He racked up 286 points in an 86-game season at the bantam level, then went on to record 51 points in 39 games as an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Minnesota in 2005-06. That same season, he beat out Russian phenom Evgeni Malkin for the world junior championship scoring title with 11 points in seven games. Scouts there called Kessel the fastest player in the tournament and raved about his shot. A few months later, the Boston Bruins drafted him fifth overall. Sixteen years later, he’s one of just 12 U.S.-born players to reach the 400-goal mark.
…and not just on the hockey rink. Besides his prowess on the ice, teammates rave about Kessel’s abilities in the weight room, on the golf course and even in more cardiovascularly demanding sports like basketball and soccer. “He’s incredibly athletic,” former teammate Blake Wheeler told Sportsnet’s Kristina Rutherford. “He’s the type of guy that, he’s good at everything he does.” By all accounts from guys who’ve played with him, Kessel is easy to get along with too.
The start of his pro career was marred by health problems. Here’s another reason why the idea of “Phil Kessel: Ironman” once seemed so unlikely. A couple of months into his rookie season with the Bruins, Kessel underwent surgery for testicular cancer. But he returned to the lineup just a month later and played in nearly every Boston game the rest of that season and all 82 the next (perhaps an early indication of the Ironman in the making). Kessel missed a dozen games in 2008-09, after which he was traded to Toronto. His Leafs debut was delayed due to off-season shoulder surgery that caused him to miss the first 12 games. Kessel finally suited up for Toronto on Nov. 3, 2009. He hasn’t missed a game since.
The Ironman streak spans nearly 13 years and four teams. Despite averaging more than 30 goals per season (including a lockout-shortened one) in his six years with the Leafs, Kessel’s tenure there ended badly as his laid-back personality proved a tough fit with Toronto’s tightly wound fans, media and organization. After the Leafs traded him to Pittsburgh in a salary dump during the 2015 off-season, Kessel got the last laugh by promptly winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. Sidney Crosby took the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP both years, but Kessel had a strong case in 2016 when he led the Penguins in goals (10) and points (22). He was excellent the following year too, notching eight goals and 23 points in the post-season. After Pittsburgh, Kessel spent three years in the desert (literally and metaphorically) with lowly Arizona, where he had a respectable 52 points last season. Say what you will about the Coyotes (and we have) but they helped Kessel keep his streak alive last March by allowing him to play just one shift in a game at Detroit before hopping on a chartered flight arranged by the team so he could join his longtime girlfriend for the birth of their first child. If you count playoff games, Kessel has now played in 1,071 consecutive contests. To put that in perspective, only nine per cent of current NHL players were in the league when his streak began in November 2009.
Yes, his diet could use some work. Though he just became a father about eight months ago, Kessel has carried a dad bod for a while, thanks somewhat to his notorious taste for junk food. Toronto sportswriter Steve Simmons is still getting dunked on for his long-ago accusation that Kessel was overfrequenting the city’s hot dog stands (a dig that Phil deliciously trolled after winning the Cup), but there’s at the very least a (popcorn) kernel of truth to that possibly apocryphal story. In an age where many pro athletes are extremely careful about what they eat, Kessel’s teammates tell of a Sour Patch Kids fanatic whose dorm room at the Sochi Olympics was littered with candy wrappers and who liked to drink Coke between periods. But that propensity to pig out is a feature, not a bug, when it comes to Kessel’s appeal. His Hall of Fame case may be a bit thin as he’s never come close to winning a major regular-season individual award, but hockey fans can never seem to get their fill of Phil.