Philip Joseph Kessel Jr. (born October 2, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey winger who is an unrestricted free agent.

Nicknamed "Phil the Thrill", he has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes, and the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL).

After his rookie season, 2006–07, he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for overcoming testicular cancer while continuing his professional career.

An offensive standout from a young age, Kessel put up 286 points (176 goals and 110 assists) in 86 games with his AAA bantam squad in 2001–02.

[4] For the 2003–04 season, Kessel moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to join the United States National Team Development Program's U17 squad.

After finishing his two years at NTDP, Kessel enrolled at University of Minnesota on a sports scholarship and played for the Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team for the 2005–06 season.

Kessel returned to the Bruins lineup on January 9, against the Ottawa Senators, after missing only 11 regular season games following cancer surgery.

At the conclusion of the season, Kessel was voted by Boston sports writers as the team's candidate for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after battling testicular cancer.

Kessel played an integral role in Boston's run during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, leading the Bruins with six goals before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games.

After the playoffs, it was reported that Kessel needed off-season shoulder surgery to repair an injury most likely incurred during a 2–0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 10.

His return to Boston was marked with thunderous taunting chants of his name by his former home crowd, along with a chorus of boos every time he had possession of the puck.

That season, Kessel was once again named an NHL All-Star and was selected to Team Chara in the eighth round of the Fantasy Draft by Toronto linemate Joffrey Lupul.

[26] The next day, he hit the 30-goal mark for the fourth-straight year (third-straight as a Maple Leaf) after beating Ondřej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets.

Later that month, Kessel continued to reach milestones, scoring his 65th point of the season (which broke his old career-high) in a 2–1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

He then scored in Toronto's next game, a 5–2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and concluded the week by recording a goal and an assist in a 4–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After weeks of trade rumors, on July 1, 2015, the Maple Leafs, who were entering a rebuilding phase, traded Kessel, Tyler Biggs, Tim Erixon, and a conditional second round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a blockbuster deal for Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, Nick Spaling, and conditional first- (Sam Steel) and third-round (James Greenway) draft picks.

[38][39] Kessel narrowly missed winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, falling short of teammate and captain Sidney Crosby by three points.

On October 11, 2018, during the third Pittsburgh game of the 2018–19 season against the Vegas Golden Knights, Kessel scored his sixth career hat-trick, which occurred as his first natural, and first as a Penguin.

On June 29, 2019, Kessel was traded from Pittsburgh to the Arizona Coyotes along with Dane Birks and a fourth-round pick, in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

[46] Kessel was able to continue his iron man streak through the COVID-19 pandemic, and dressed for the first shift of a March 8, 2022 road game against the Detroit Red Wings before leaving to take a special chartered flight back to Arizona to be present for the birth of his first child.

[47] Kessel had initially intended to play the entire game before leaving, but was encouraged by coach André Tourigny to depart earlier.

[48] After being present for the birth of his daughter Kapri, he rejoined the Coyotes on the road less than 48 hours later for a March 10 game against his former team, the Maple Leafs, recording an assist in a 5–4 victory.

"[48] On April 2, 2022, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Mike Yeo scratched Keith Yandle from the lineup, ending his iron man streak at a record 989 straight games.

"[53] The next night against the San Jose Sharks, Kessel officially passed Yandle for the iron man record, skating in his 990th consecutive game, where he scored his 400th goal.

[55][56] Kessel appeared in all of the Golden Knights' 82 regular season games, and started the team's first-round 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Winnipeg Jets.

[59] Coach Cassidy praised Kessel as "a terrific teammate for our guys" during the Golden Knights' deep run in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, in which he was cited as a contributor to the team's morale.

Kessel represented the United States in international competition for the first time when his under-17 National Team Development Program squad played at the 2004 World U17 Hockey Challenge finishing fourth.

"[65] This was interpreted by several Team USA players and personnel, including Dean Lombardi, John Tortorella, David Backes, Zach Parise, and Derek Stepan as Kessel jabbing following his snub.

His father, Phil Kessel Sr., a college quarterback at Northern Michigan University, was drafted in 1981 by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL), spending his first year on the injured reserve and then subsequently being released.

Kessel's sister Amanda is also a professional ice hockey player and internationally represented the United States with whom she won gold during the 2018 Winter Olympics.