Internationally, Kessel represented the United States women's national ice hockey team at three Olympic Games and seven World Championships, winning five gold medals and five silver medals. She won Olympic gold in 2018 and silver medals at the 2014 and 2022 Olympics. At the 2018 Olympic gold medal game, she scored a crucial shootout goal that extended the shootout before the United States defeated Canada 3-2, securing the first U.S. Olympic gold in women's hockey in 20 years. She won World Championship gold medals in 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2023, and ranks seventh among Americans in all-time World Championship scoring with 20 goals and 59 points in 43 games.
At the University of Minnesota, Kessel won three NCAA national championships (2012, 2013, 2016) and was awarded the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2013 as the top player in NCAA Division I women's hockey. She recorded 108 goals and 248 points in 136 games, averaging 1.82 points per game, and became the first player in NCAA women's hockey history to record over 100 points in a single season during her sophomore year in 2011–12. Her collegiate career was interrupted by concussion symptoms sustained during training for the 2014 Winter Olympics, causing her to miss the 2014–15 season and most of the 2015–16 season before returning for the national championship run.
In 2022, Kessel joined the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. She was promoted to Special Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations in 2023. Though she was selected by PWHL Montreal in the 2024 PWHL draft, Kessel chose to continue her management career and was promoted to her current roles with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in August 2024.
Growing up in an athletic household, Kessel and her brothers were highly competitive with each other, frequently competing in video games, ping pong, and hockey drills.[4] She began skating at a young age and developed a passion for hockey alongside her siblings. Due to limited opportunities for girls' youth hockey in Madison, Kessel played for the Madison Capitols Bantam boys' team in 2005–06, helping the team win state and regional championships.[1][5]
Kessel attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, where she played for the school's girls' hockey team.[1] In her freshman year (2006–07), she recorded 102 points in 56 games and helped Shattuck win the USA Hockey under-19 national championship.[1] As a junior, she achieved the 100-point mark (44 goals, 56 assists) in just 34 games as the team repeated as U-19 national champions.[1] In her senior season (2009–10), Kessel was the team's points leader by 61 points, recording 122 points (67 goals, 55 assists) in 46 games.[1]
Kessel played college hockey for the University of Minnesota from 2010 to 2016, recording 108 goals and 248 points in 136 games.[1] Her career average of 1.82 points per game ranks among the best in NCAA Division I women's hockey history.[1] Kessel made an immediate impact in her first game with Minnesota on October 1, 2010, registering two goals and two assists in a 5–0 victory over Clarkson University.[6] The following day, she scored the game-winning goal in a 3–0 victory.[citation needed] Kessel finished her freshman season with 28 goals and 71 points in 40 games, earning WCHA Rookie of the Year honors.[1] She led all NCAA freshmen in scoring and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team.[1] Kessel helped the Golden Gophers reach the NCAA championship game, where they fell to the Wisconsin Badgers 4–2.[1]
In her sophomore campaign, Kessel recorded 46 goals and 101 points in 41 games, becoming the first player in NCAA women's hockey history to record over 100 points in a single season.[1] On November 18, 2011, she registered five points, including four goals, in an 11–0 victory over New Hampshire, the worst loss in the 35-year history of the Wildcats program.[7][8] The next day, she earned her second hat trick of the weekend as the Gophers defeated New Hampshire 6–1.[9] Kessel was named a Patty Kazmaier Award top-10 finalist and helped lead Minnesota to the 2012 NCAA championship, defeating the Wisconsin Badgers 4–2 in the title game.[1] She was named to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.[1]
Kessel's junior year proved to be her most decorated. She recorded 34 goals and 76 points in 37 games, leading Minnesota to a second consecutive national championship with a 6–3 victory over Boston University in the 2013 title game.[1] She scored the game-winning goal in the championship game and was named to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.[1] Kessel won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in NCAA Division I women's hockey, becoming Minnesota's first recipient of the award.[1] She was also named a First-Team All-American and WCHA Player of the Year.[1]
Following her junior season, Kessel took a redshirt year during the 2013–14 season to train with the U.S. Women's National Team in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[1] She competed in the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where the United States earned a silver medal.[1] On September 10, 2014, the Golden Gophers announced that Kessel would sit out the 2014–15 season as a result of lingering concussion symptoms she had sustained while playing for Team USA.[10] On July 21, 2015, it was announced that Kessel would not be playing hockey for the 2015–16 season for health reasons. Because she had previously taken a redshirt year on two prior occasions, she was no longer be eligible to play college hockey.[11] However, on February 3, 2016, the Golden Gophers announced that Kessel had returned to the team. Despite earlier prognoses, she continued working to gain clearance from doctors to play hockey and succeeded late in the 2015–16 season in time for the February 5–6 series against North Dakota.[12] In her return season, Kessel recorded 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists) in 13 games.[1] She was named to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team and helped Minnesota win its third national championship in her four active seasons, defeating Boston College 3–1 in the 2016 title game.[1] Kessel scored the game-winning goal in the championship game.[1]
Kessel finished her collegiate career with three NCAA national championships (2012, 2013, 2016), one Patty Kazmaier Award (2013), three NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team selections, and numerous WCHA honors.[1] Her 1.82 points-per-game average and 101-point sophomore season remain among the best single-season and career marks in NCAA women's hockey history.[1]
Professional
New York/Metropolitan Riveters (2016–19)
Due to NWHL league rules stipulating that a college player must be entering her senior year to be drafted and Kessel's junior season was completed in 2013 before the league existed, Kessel was never drafted by a National Women's Hockey League team. Instead, she signed as a free agent with the New York Riveters on May 1, 2016.[13] Her contract was the largest NWHL contract to date.[13]
During the 2016–17 NWHL season, Kessel recorded 4 goals and 18 points in 8 games for the Riveters, averaging 2.25 points per game.[1] She was named one of the two captains for the 2nd NWHL All-Star Game.[14] She scored a hat trick in the All-Star Game, becoming the first player in NWHL All-Star history to accomplish this feat, and was recognized as the game's Most Valuable Player.[15] She also added an assist in one postseason game that season.[1]
After taking the 2017–18 season off from the NWHL due to national team commitments, she returned to the league with the renamed Metropolitan Riveters for the 2018–19 NWHL season.[16] Kessel signed a one-year contract with the defending Isobel Cup champions in June 2018, fresh off Team USA's gold medal victory at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[17] She led the team in assists (15) and points (17) despite the Riveters posting a disappointing 4-12-0 record, the worst season in franchise history.[18] Kessel was the only Riveters player to average over a point per game during the season.[19]
PWHPA (2019–23)
Following the 2018–19 season, Kessel was one of many players to join the boycott of North American women's hockey leagues and join the new players' union, the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), to push for better support of women's hockey.[1] She was named a team captain at the January 2020 Toronto showcase.[20]
Skating for Team New Hampshire during the 2020–21 PWHPA season, Kessel participated in a PWHPA Dream Gap Tour event at New York's Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2021, the first women's ice hockey event at the venue.[21] Playing for a team sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation, Kessel recorded a goal and an assist in a 4–3 win,[22] earning the Second Star of the Game. In the 2022–23 season, Kessel recorded 5 points in 6 games playing for Team Adidas in the PWHPA.[23]
PWHL Montreal (2024)
Kessel declared for the 2024 PWHL draft in May 2024, despite having spent the 2023–24 season working in the Pittsburgh Penguins' front office.[24] Reports circulated that Kessel only intended to play for PWHL Boston, where her sister-in-law Courtney Kessel served as head coach.[25] However, PWHL Montreal selected her 41st overall with the second-to-last pick in the draft on June 10, 2024.[26]
Kessel never played for Montreal. On August 19, 2024, she was promoted by the Penguins to Manager of Minor League Operations and Assistant General Manager of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[27] Following the announcement, it was not made clear whether she would play for Montreal or continue her front office career with the Penguins.[1] She ultimately chose to remain with Pittsburgh in her management role.
International
Youth career
Before being named to the U.S. Women's National Team, Kessel was a member of the United States under-22 and under-18 national teams.[1] At the 2008 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, Kessel played in five games with Team USA and tallied 11 points, ranking third among all players in scoring.[1] The following year at the 2009 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, she was named the tournament's Most Valuable Forward after scoring six goals and 13 assists for 19 points to lead Team USA to a gold medal.[1] Kessel was named to the U.S. team participating in the 2010 Four Nations Cup but did not play due to an injury.[28]
Senior career
As a member of the U.S. national team, Kessel has won a medal at all the international tournaments she has participated in, compiling a career total of five gold medals and five silver medals across three Olympic Games and seven World Championships.[29] Kessel made her senior international debut at the 2011 4 Nations Cup, where she helped the United States win gold.[29] She repeated as a Four Nations Cup champion the following year at the 2012 tournament.[29]
World Championships
Kessel warms up ahead of a Team USA game, December 2017
Her final World Championship appearance came at the 2023 tournament in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, where she recorded 5 goals and 9 points in 7 games while playing on a line with Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter.[26] The United States won gold, and Kessel's performance helped solidify her ranking as seventh among Americans in all-time World Championship scoring with 20 goals and 59 points in 43 games.[26]
Olympics
Kessel has competed in three Olympic Games, winning one gold medal and two silver medals. She made her Olympic debut at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where she recorded 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 5 games as the United States earned a silver medal.[1] However, she sustained a concussion during Olympic training that would cause her to miss significant time in the following years.[1] After a lengthy recovery from concussion symptoms, Kessel returned to the Olympic stage at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She recorded 1 assist in 5 games as Team USA defeated Canada 3-2 in a shootout in the gold medal game, securing the United States' first Olympic gold medal in women's hockey in 20 years.[1] Kessel scored a crucial shootout goal in the gold medal game that extended the shootout, setting the stage for Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson to score the winning goal and goaltender Maddie Rooney to secure the victory.[30] Kessel's third Olympic appearance came at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, where she recorded 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games. The United States earned a silver medal after falling to Canada in the gold medal game.[1]
Administrative career
On April 20, 2022, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) announced that Kessel would be the first member of their Executive Management Program,[31][32] She earned a promotion on August 4, 2023 when she was named as a Special Assistant to the Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Kyle Dubas. While her previous role saw her learning multiple facets of the team's day-to-day operations, including marketing and public relations, her new role is focused solely on hockey operations and club management with a focus on research and development as well as minor league operations.[33] On August 19, 2024, she was promoted by the Penguins to manager of minor league operations and assistant general manager of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[34][35]
Personal life
Kessel became engaged to her partner, Catherine Williams, on August 21, 2024.[36] The two married in 2025.[37] In 2019, Kessel paired with Eric Radford for the fifth season of CBC's Battle of the Blades, where hockey players paired with figure skaters to compete for their chosen charity.[38] However, she and Radford were the first pair eliminated.[38]
↑Montroy, Liz (September 4, 2022). "Heise named MVP". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
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