Phil Kessel’s philosophy of life is simple. And like most philosophies of life, hard to realize.
“Live each day to its fullest, don’t get wrapped up too much in silly stuff . . . relax, have fun, don’t get too uptight,” Kessel said, rambling off a host of stay-positive mantras after another training-camp workout with the Leafs this week.
And Kessel, who has had a reputation within some circles of the Toronto media for being uptight and brittle, may actually be following his own philosophy. He’s showing his fun side more than ever to his teammates. In fact, he’s taken charge of team fun lately.
“He has a great place and he has the guys over for football games,” good friend Tyler Bozak says. “There’s a lot of chirping going on. It can get pretty vocal on who wins and who loses, but Phil treats us great, he always has good food and stuff for us. He’s kind of coming up with ideas to do things in the dressing room, and they’re good ones . . . we usually end up doing them.”
Bozak and Kessel were thrust into a somewhat difficult on-ice partnership last season, with Bozak, a rookie centre, expected to complement Kessel’s high-octane game the way Marc Savard did in Boston. But along the way, they became good buddies, so much so that teammates dubbed them “Bert and Ernie” after the famous puppet friends from Sesame Street.
And consider this assessment of Kessel from teammate Colby Armstrong.
“He loves golf and fishing, he’s quiet, a simple guy, T-shirt and sweatpants. He’s really a softie, good natured, he likes everyone, never has a bad thing to say about anyone. He’d do anything for anyone on the team, never judges anyone . . . a super guy,” Armstrong says.
Armstrong, like Bozak, also mentions Kessel’s new role as team social convenor. Is this the same Kessel with the prickly reputation?
“I’m not like, I don’t like to say overly shy . . . with people I know. It’s easy, I’m very talkative,” Kessel says. “But I’m not happy when we lose so I don’t say much, I don’t like to talk about it. But anyone can talk to me, I’m approachable.”
The word “shy” often pops into the conversation when teammates talk about Kessel. Bozak and Armstrong, for instance, say Kessel’s shyness is often mistaken for aloofness.
Kessel certainly isn’t chatty after losses. Or when he’s in a scoring slump. Like most pro athletes, he’s competitive by nature.
Kessel grew up in an athletic family in Madison, Wis. His father, Phil Sr., was a college quarterback with Northern Michigan University in the late 1970s; his mother, Kathy, ran track in college; brother Blake is with the Philadelphia Flyers; and sister Amanda plays in the U.S. national women’s hockey program.
The siblings began playing hockey outdoors on Lake Mendota, which borders Madison. Eventually, the in-family shinny would turn into a competition of some kind, with older brother Phil usually issuing a challenge or making a bet on something.
“I try not to be that way but everything I do is a competition,” says Kessel, 23. “My brother, my sister, my girlfriend, they all know if I lose, I’m sour. I’m close with them, we’re a close family . . . and we all like to do other sports. I liked to play soccer when I was younger and (my brother and sister) are both good golfers and good hockey players, so it’s always a competition between us.”
But even though Kessel enjoys going head to head with family members, he is fiercely protective of them too.
“It was always fun being with Phil, he would take care of us really well, always looking out for us,” says Blake Kessel. “He’d make sure we’re getting everything we need, take us out to lunch. He would definitely do anything for us. He’s always the first one to ask if we need anything.
“He gave me his old car,” Blake added. “It was an Escalade truck. That was pretty cool.”
In Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers, football reigns supreme and Kessel, like everyone else in his community, grew up watching the Packers on Sunday. But hockey was always Kessel’s sport — he developed his feared snap shot firing pucks into a net “that was always around” the house — and it’s around hockey and hockey players that he finds his comfort level.
“He’s usually pretty outgoing with his tight group,” Blake Kessel says. “Whenever he gets comfortable, that’s when he can relax.”
