His Bruins tenure long past, Phil Kessel’s impression here remains strong - The Boston Globe
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Phil Kessel is something of an everyman hero to hockey fans. In a sport where nearly every player is ripped, his physique is a tad doughy. He is notoriously averse to the media song and dance, more than a tad prickly when asked a tough question. On social media, he has laughed at himself more than a few times.
On the ice he is, and always was, a great skater with a heck of a wrister, pucks flying off a stick with a candy-cane tape job. He has beaten goalies 357 times in the regular season with one of the softest sticks in the league. He is a unique bird.
The kid the Bruins drafted No. 5 overall in 2006 now plays in Arizona, dealt here by the Penguins last offseason for Alex Galchenyuk. He’ll soon play his 1,000th regular-season game, though he only turned 32 on Wednesday. The reason he’s about to get there at such a young age: He hasn’t missed a game in nine years. If he keeps alive the league’s second-longest active ironman streak (776 games with Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the Bruins), he’ll reach the millennium mark next Saturday at Colorado.
Kessel was a “very shy kid” with NHL-level skating and shooting ability, recalled Chara, then in his first year as captain. His opinion about the person was cemented during Kessel’s December 2006 bout with testicular cancer.
“It was tough to see,” said Chara of Kessel, who was 19. “I thought it made him stronger.”
Kessel had surgery and missed 10 games, returning Jan. 9, 2007. His perseverance earned him the Bill Masterton Trophy. Since, he has continued to be an advocate for early detection. Last September, Kessel, then with Pittsburgh, was honored by the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program.
“I was just lucky,” he said during a speech. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to stand by and not help raise awareness.”
Patrice Bergeron, then a 21-year-old alternate captain, said Kessel was upbeat and positive.
“Always,” said Bergeron, who had his own medical scares, concussions nearly ending his young career. “Obviously we didn’t see him for a while when he was recovering from that surgery, but that guy was very resilient. It was a tough time for anyone. I thought he handled it pretty remarkably.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for that guy. He’s a tremendous talent. People are all over him sometimes but he’s had a tremendous career.”
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Phil Kessel is something of an everyman hero to hockey fans. In a sport where nearly every player is ripped, his physique is a tad doughy. He is notoriously averse to the media song and dance, more than a tad prickly when asked a tough question. On social media, he has laughed at himself more than a few times.
On the ice he is, and always was, a great skater with a heck of a wrister, pucks flying off a stick with a candy-cane tape job. He has beaten goalies 357 times in the regular season with one of the softest sticks in the league. He is a unique bird.
The kid the Bruins drafted No. 5 overall in 2006 now plays in Arizona, dealt here by the Penguins last offseason for Alex Galchenyuk. He’ll soon play his 1,000th regular-season game, though he only turned 32 on Wednesday. The reason he’s about to get there at such a young age: He hasn’t missed a game in nine years. If he keeps alive the league’s second-longest active ironman streak (776 games with Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the Bruins), he’ll reach the millennium mark next Saturday at Colorado.
Kessel was a “very shy kid” with NHL-level skating and shooting ability, recalled Chara, then in his first year as captain. His opinion about the person was cemented during Kessel’s December 2006 bout with testicular cancer.
“It was tough to see,” said Chara of Kessel, who was 19. “I thought it made him stronger.”
Kessel had surgery and missed 10 games, returning Jan. 9, 2007. His perseverance earned him the Bill Masterton Trophy. Since, he has continued to be an advocate for early detection. Last September, Kessel, then with Pittsburgh, was honored by the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program.
“I was just lucky,” he said during a speech. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to stand by and not help raise awareness.”
Patrice Bergeron, then a 21-year-old alternate captain, said Kessel was upbeat and positive.
“Always,” said Bergeron, who had his own medical scares, concussions nearly ending his young career. “Obviously we didn’t see him for a while when he was recovering from that surgery, but that guy was very resilient. It was a tough time for anyone. I thought he handled it pretty remarkably.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for that guy. He’s a tremendous talent. People are all over him sometimes but he’s had a tremendous career.”
