Background
Kessel was born to Philosophy and Kathy Kessel in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Blake Kessel
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He attended the University of New Hampshire and majored in sports studies.
Career
He used to play for Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the New York Islanders in the 6th round (166th overall) of the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Blake comes from a long line of professional athletes.
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. 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.
On October 22, 2013, Kessel signed with the Bakersfield Condors. 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 2014-2015 season with Tampereen Ilves.
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 2015-2016 season. Kessel landed a spot on the United States roster for the 2009 U20 World Championships.
In November 2015, he played for Team United States of America at the Deutschland-Cup in Augsburg.
