Though he's quiet by nature, Kessel has made a lot of noise throughout his NHL career with his offensive skills. From the USA Hockey National Team Development Program to the University of Minnesota and then for more than a decade in the NHL, Kessel has been an offensive force.

That scoring prowess put his name on the map in Kessel's first season with the NTDP's Under-17 team in 2003-04, when he set a program record for a U-17 player with 82 points (52 goals, 30 assists). Kessel moved up to the under-18 team in 2004-05 and again set a program record with 98 points (52 goals, 46 assists).

Kessel headed to the University of Minnesota in 2005-06 and as a freshman was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Rookie of the Year after he had with 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 39 games. He was then selected by the Boston Bruins with the No. 5 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft and signed his first pro contract Aug. 17, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

But 27 games into his rookie season, Kessel was diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer and had surgery Dec. 11, 2006. He was declared cancer free five days later, and after a quick conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League he returned to the lineup Jan. 9, 2007. He was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Kessel played three seasons with Boston. But after he scored 36 goals in his third season, the Bruins traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 18, 2009. In six seasons with the Maple Leafs, Kessel led them in goals five times and scored at least 30 four times. He had 394 points (181 goals, 213 assists) in 446 games for the Maple Leafs before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2015.

With the Penguins, Kessel helped form one of the top lines in the NHL for the second half of the 2015-16 season, the "HBK Line" with Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino. They helped power the Penguins to the Stanley Cup. Kessel finished tied for third in the NHL with 10 Stanley Cup Playoff goals and was fourth in scoring with 22 points.

Kessel had 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) in 2016-17, then helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 25 playoff games. He followed that with the best offensive season of his NHL career in 2017-18, finishing with 92 points (34 goals, 58 assists).

Kessel played all 82 games for the sixth consecutive season in 2018-19, when his 82 points were second on the Penguins to Sidney Crosby's 100 and led the NHL with 10 game-winning goals. Pittsburgh was swept by the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference First Round, Kessel's final postseason with the Penguins. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes for forward Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on June 29, 2019.

Kessel has also excelled internationally, including at the 2005 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, where he helped the United States finish first by scoring nine goals and 16 points in six games. He won a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Kessel played his 965th consecutive NHL game, passing Doug Jarvis for the second-longest streak in NHL history, for the Coyotes in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on March 27, 2022.

Kessel signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Aug. 25, 2022 after three seasons with the Coyotes. He played his 990th consecutive NHL game Oct. 25, breaking the record held by Keith Yandle, and scored his 400th NHL goal when the Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at SAP Center in San Jose, the arena where he won the Stanley Cup for the first time. The ironman streak reached 1,000 games Nov. 17, a 4-1 victory against the Coyotes in Las Vegas, a run that includes 208 games with Arizona.

The 2022-23 season ended with Kessel becoming a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Golden Knights' five-game victory against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.