Men’s hockey | 12/29/2021 12:13:00 AM

MINNEAPOLIS – True to his nickname “Phil the Thrill,” Phil Kessel became the leading scorer in Gopher Hockey history in the NHL on Tuesday night with his 925th point in the regular season, collecting four assists for the Arizona to surpass Neal Broten’s previous record of 923 points which had held up for more than two decades.

Kessel continues to stand out as one of the most gifted offensive threats of his time. In addition to his 925 points, Kessel leads all of the University of Minnesota’s NHL alumni in games played (1,152) and goals (396) as he ranks second in assists (529). Kessel is also the only Gopher to have won the Stanley Cup twice as a player, winning back-to-back titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

2007 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy recipient and three-time NHL All-Star (2011, 2012, 2015) is in his 16th NHL season and third with the Arizona Coyotes after previously playing with Pittsburgh, Toronto and Boston. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Kessel currently ranks 12th all-time among U.S. NHL scorers and second among active U.S. players. His durability is even more impressive as Kessel played 930 straight NHL games – the third longest streak in league history behind Doug Jarvis (964) and Keith Yandle (951, active).

Along with the Gophers, Kessel helped the Maroon & Golds win the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular season champions in 2005-06. The forward was named WCHA Rookie of the Year after finishing second on the team with 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 39 games. After his first season, Kessel was selected fifth overall in the 2006 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins – one of four Gophers selected in the first round that year.

Internationally, the striker has competed in three world championships as well as the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics (Kessel won a silver medal in 2010 and was named top striker in 2014).