On October 25, Phil Kessel passed Keith Yandle for most consecutive games played in the NHL. He played his 990th game against the San Jose Sharks and became the All-Time Iron Man of the NHL.
Nowadays, only a few players even play all 82 games of a regular season. So for Kessel to reach the fourth-digit mark is an incredible effort and a record that will probably never be broken.
On Thursday, Kessel skated out to his 1,000th consecutive game, and it was celebration time in Vegas. Before the game, Kessel was recognized on center ice, and present for the ceremony were Kessel’s wife Sandra and daughter Kapri, but also Golden Knights president of hockey operations, George McPhee.
Kessel was given a 1,000-game straight trophy and, of course, a great bottle of wine.
Phil Kessel’s remarkable streak began in November of 2009 when he was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kessel has since then played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes, and Vegas Golden Knights.
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He has also won two Stanley Cups and played in one All-Star Game, all without missing a single game.
Heading into his 1000th consecutive game, Kessel’s teammates wanted to do something special for him.
They all chipped in and gifted him a custom jacket. The jacket features logos of all teams Kessel has played for and the number of games with each team on the sleeves. The number 1,000–the amount of games Kessel played consecutive–is also printed repeatedly throughout the entire jacket.
But the main thing is that Kessel’s nickname,” Phil the Thrill,” is written with huge text on the back.
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