Kessel is back in Pittsburgh!
No, not former Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and three time Stanley Cup champion Phil Kessel, I'm talking about his sister Amanda Kessel! Amanda is, of course, a former star in the women's game with the University of Minnesota and Team USA. The fairer Kessel has signed a new contract with the Penguins and will serve as the team's special assistant to president of hockey operations and general manager. She'll work under president and make-shift GM Kyle Dubas.
Previously, Kessel held an executive fellow role within an executive management program offered by the franchise under the team's previous management regime. In that position, she held a wide variety of duties, including in some hockey operations capacities as well other areas such as business, marketing and communications. But, it's believed that this new role will come with more responsibility and Kessel's decisions will have more of an impact on the team's on-ice personnel.
The 31 year old still competes on the International stage for USA and just this past April she put up five goals and nine points in seven games to help USA win gold at the IIHF World Championships.
Of course, Amanda's older brother Phil is also a former member of the Penguins organization, having a large part in the team's back to back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. He won his third Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights this past Spring and earlier in the season he became the NHL's all-time Ironman. The man they call 'Phil the Thrill' has played 1,064 consecutive games, more than anyone else in NHL history. He's without a contract for this upcoming season though, so it remains to be seen if he'll add to his total or not. He's earned nearly $93 million over the course of his career, he's got three Stanley Cup rings, he's the NHL's all-time Ironman and he and his wife have a beautiful young family. I don't think there's a person in the world who would fault him for hanging up the skates for good this offseason.
But, having said all that, I can't see old Phil just walking away from the game. He simply loves it too much and if there's a team out there willing to pay him a salary I bet he'll be back next season.
