John Van Kessel

John Van Kessel
Born	(1969-12-19) December 19, 1969 (age 54) Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	New Haven Nighthawks Phoenix Roadrunners New Haven Senators Cape Breton Oilers Kaufbeurer Adler EV Landshut Düsseldorfer EG Krefeld Pinguine EV Zeltweg
NHL Draft	49th overall, 1988 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1990–2001

John Van Kessel (born December 19, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Van Kessel played ten professional seasons, in the American Hockey League (AHL), East Coast Hockey League(ECHL) and International Hockey League (IHL) in North America, and in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and Austrian Hockey League (AL) in Europe.

Playing career

Van Kessel was born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League for the Belleville Bulls and the North Bay Centennials. After the 1987–88 season, he was drafted in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft in the third round, 49th overall by the Los Angeles Kings. He would play two further seasons of junior before debuting in professional play with the New Haven Nighthawks after his junior season ended in 1989–90. He then joined the Phoenix Roadrunners of the IHL where he played two seasons. In the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, Van Kessel was selected by the Ottawa Senators of the NHL in the second and last draft by an NHL team of his rights. He would play in the AHL and ECHL until 1996 when he moved to Europe to play. He first played in Slovenia, for Sportina Bled HK. He then moved in 1997 to Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga and spent the 1997-98 season playing for Kaufbeurer Adler, EV Landshut and Düsseldorfer EG. He played one more season in the DEL, with the Krefeld Pinguine. He did not play for two seasons then played a three-games tryout with EV Zeltweg of the Austrian Hockey League in 2001–02 to end his professional career.

Personal

On November 10, 1999 his daughter Emily was born in Germany.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1986–87	Belleville Bulls	OHL		61	1	10	11	58		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Belleville Bulls	OHL		6	1	0	1	11		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	North Bay Centennials	OHL		44	12	16	28	203		4	1	1	2	16
1988–89	North Bay Centennials	OHL		50	7	13	20	218		11	2	4	6	32
1989–90	North Bay Centennials	OHL		40	7	21	28	127		5	0	3	3	16
1989–90	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL		6	1	1	2	9		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		65	15	15	30	246		3	1	1	2	16
1991–92	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		44	2	6	8	247		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	New Haven Senators	AHL		17	2	3	5	60		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Wheeling Thunderbirds	ECHL		17	1	8	9	119		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Cape Breton Oilers	AHL		37	2	7	9	154		5	0	0	0	12
1994–95	Cape Breton Oilers	AHL		38	8	9	17	148		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Hampton Roads Admirals	ECHL		5	1	3	4	14		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	HK Bled	Slovenia		29	—	—	—	185		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Kaufbeurer Adler	DEL		13	3	1	4	49		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	EV Landshut	DEL		4	2	2	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL		20	3	2	5	93		2	0	0	0	29
1998–99	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL		36	6	7	13	81		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	EV Zeltweg	Austria		3	0	1	1	33		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				98	13	20	33	371		5	0	0	0	12
IHL totals				109	17	21	38	493		3	1	1	2	16

References

• "John Van Kessel hockey statistics & profile at hockeydb.com". hockeydb.com.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database