Matthew Kessel

Matthew James Kessel (born June 23, 2000) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life
Kessel was born on June 23, 2000 in Arizona, USA to parents Tom and Leila Kessel. Although he was born in Arizona, Kessel grew up in Detroit, Michigan alongside his three older brothers. His eldest brother played college football at the University of Cincinnati while his other two brothers played college hockey. His second oldest brother played college hockey at Western Michigan University before transitioning to the ECHL. His third oldest brother played college hockey at the College of the Holy Cross from 2017 to 2021.

Amateur
Kessel first played junior ice hockey for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2017–18, moving to the Chicago Steel later that season. In 2018, he moved to the Sioux Falls Stampede.

Collegiate career
Kessel originally committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey at Miami of Ohio but changed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst following the firing of Miami's head coach. Due to a close connection with one of the assistant coaches, Kessel was offered a spot at UMass Amherst without seeing the campus or being recruited through the normal means. Kessel began the 2019–20 season playing on the UMass Minutemen's third defensive pairing alongside fellow freshman Gianfranco Cassaro. He made his collegiate debut on October 11 and scored his first collegiate goal on October 15 against Northeastern. Kessel impressed the UMass coaching staff through the first seven games of the season enough that he was dubbed the "most impressive freshman" by head coach Greg Carvel. Mid-way through November, as the Minutemen maintained a 7–3 record, Kessel was promoted to their top defensive pair with Jake McLaughlin. He then played the majority of the season as one of the team's top defenseman alongside Marc Del Gaizo and finished with seven goals to lead all freshmen defensemen in the nation.

Professional career
Kessel was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fifth round, 150th overall, in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. After completing his junior season with the Minutemen, Kessel concluded his collegiate career in signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Blues on March 28, 2022. He was assigned to complete the 2021–22 season with the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

During the tail end of the 2022–23 season, Kessel was recalled and made his NHL debut with the Blues on April 2, 2023, against the Boston Bruins. He played just one more game, two days later, before being sent down to the AHL.

For the 2023–24 season, Kessel was again assigned to begin the year with the Thunderbirds. On December 30, 2023, he was recalled to the Blues. On February 13, 2024, he recorded his first NHL point, an assist on a goal by Alexey Toropchenko. On March 13, Kessel signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with the Blues. In his 37th game, he scored his first NHL goal on April 7, against Lukáš Dostál of the Anaheim Ducks.