PHIL “THE THRILL”
2022-10-26 · 2 min read · NHL/Hockey
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Vegas Golden Knights winger Phil “The Thrill” Kessel has officially broken the NHL ironman record with 990 consecutive games played, as the Knights won 4-2 over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
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Kessel broke the record set last season by former PHX/ARI, NYR, FLA, PHI defenseman Keith Yandle, who made a video tribute for Kessel that, was played during the game. Having retired after last season,
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Yandle had become the NHL's ironman record-holder when he reached his 965th game in a row in January, passing long time holder Doug Jarvis' record. While Phil The Thrill is a two-time Stanley Cup champ this may be his crowning achievement.
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Kessel has long been haunted by a perceived laziness, bad attitudes or bad habits, although often without much merit; playing 990 consecutive games is a good way to prove their foolishness. It took him 12 years to accomplish this; it's hard to put it into words how crazy it is to play every single game of one full NHL season, let alone doing those 12 years in a row.
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Considering the grind of skating almost every single day combined with ridiculous amounts of travel, its crazy this freak was never kept out of the lineup whether by flu, a sprain, a concussion, or anything else you can think of.
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Back in March, Kessel even played in the first period of a game that he left for the birth of his daughter and was back with the team for their next game, talk about dedication to the game. All this from a guy that was once known for eating a bunch of candy and hot dogs, while rarely if ever drinking water.
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For the record Kessel apparently did not like the taste of water, mostly having blue Gatorade instead (had to include that as it gets me every time). Just to put a cherry on top of his record setting evening Kessel also potted his 400-career goal.
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Congratulations to the NHL’s new ironman Phil The Thrill.
By: Chase Howard
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