Matthew Kessel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Matthew James Kessel (born June 23, 2000) is an American professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
for the
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL).


Early life

Kessel was born on June 23, 2000 in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, USA to parents Tom and Leila Kessel. Although he was born in Arizona, Kessel grew up in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
alongside his three older brothers. The eldest brother played football briefly at the University of Cincinnati. The second oldest brother played college hockey at
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
before transitioning to the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
. The third oldest brother played college hockey at the College of the Holy Cross from 2017 to 2021.


Playing career


Amateur

Kessel first played junior ice hockey for the
Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...
of the
United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...
(USHL) in 2017–18, moving to the
Chicago Steel The Chicago Steel are members of the United States Hockey League, joining the league in 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois, since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in Bense ...
later that season. In
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
, he moved to the
Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...
.


Collegiate career

Kessel originally committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey at Miami of Ohio but changed to the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
following the firing of Miami's head coach. Due to a close connection with one of the assistant coaches, Kessel was offered a spot at UMass Amherst without seeing the campus or being recruited through the normal means. Kessel began the 2019–20 season playing on the UMass Minutemen's third defensive pairing alongside fellow freshman Gianfranco Cassaro. He made his collegiate debut on October 11 and scored his first collegiate goal on October 15 against
Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
. Kessel impressed the UMass coaching staff through the first seven games of the season enough that he was dubbed the "most impressive freshman" by head coach Greg Carvel. Mid-way through November, as the Minutemen mantained a 7–3 record, Kessel was promoted to their top defensive pair with Jake McLaughlin. He then played the majority of the season as one of the team's top defenseman alongside Marc Del Gaizo and finished with seven goals to lead all freshmen defensemen in the nation.


Professional career

Kessel was selected by the
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
in the fifth round, 150th overall, in the
2020 NHL Entry Draft The 2020 NHL Entry Draft was the 58th NHL Entry Draft, held from October 6–7, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pan ...
. After completing his junior season with the Minutemen, Kessel concluded his collegiate career in signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Blues on March 28, 2022. He was assigned to complete the 2021–22 season with the team's
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) affiliate, the
Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. Based in Springfield, M ...
. During the tail end of the 2022–23 season, Kessel was recalled and made his NHL debut with the Blues on April 2, 2023, against the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
. He played just one more game, two days later, before being sent down to the AHL. For the 2023–24 season, Kessel was again assigned to begin the year with the Thunderbirds. On December 30, 2023, he was recalled to the Blues. On February 13, 2024, he recorded his first NHL point, an assist on a goal by Alexey Toropchenko. On March 13, Kessel signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with the Blues. In his 37th game, he scored his first NHL goal on April 7, against
Lukáš Dostál Lukáš Dostál (born 22 June 2000) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ducks in the third round, 85th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Early lif ...
of the Anaheim Ducks.


Career statistics


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, Matthew 2000 births Living people Chicago Steel players Fargo Force players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Sioux Falls Stampede players Springfield Thunderbirds players UMass Minutemen ice hockey players