USA Gold Medalist Amanda Kessel Returns to the Metropolitan Riveters

USA Hockey forward, Amanda Kessel, will be the first member of the 2018 gold medal winning team to return to the National Women’s Hockey League, after re-signing with the Metropolitan Riveters on Monday.

The three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association champion and former Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, as best college women’s hockey player, with the University of Minnesota agreed to return to the Riveters for her second season in the NWHL. Kessel will attempt to help the Riveters in their Quest to Defend the Isobel Cup.

The 27-year-old forward said, “I am excited to announce my return to the NWHL and the Metropolitan Riveters, the defending Isobel Cup Champions.”

Kessel won a silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics and a gold during the 2013 and 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, in addition to capturing the gold in South Korea this past winter. In the gold medal matchup against Canada, this past February, the Madison, Wisconsin native scored a big goal in the shootout to help lead the team to victory.

Kessel: “…the future for women’s hockey and the NWHL is bright and I am looking forward to what is to come.”

Kessel said, “We are coming off one of the most exciting moments in U.S. women’s hockey history with Team USA’s Olympic gold medal victory and I want to keep this momentum going in the NWHL. I want the next generation of women’s hockey players to see that a professional career in hockey is possible. The future for women’s hockey and the NWHL is bright and I am looking forward to what is to come.”

Kessel named 2017 NWHL All-Star Game MVP

During her rookie season, in 2016-2017, Kessel represented the Riveters as one of the captains at the 2017 NWHL All-Star Game. The game was held at the Pittsburgh Penguins practice facility, the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

The Penguins, who have Kessel’s older brother, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Phil Kessel on their roster, helped sponsor the 2017 NWHL All-Star Game. Kessel was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Her first professional season with the Riveters she scored four goals and 14 assists in eight games. This past season her Riveters joined forces with the New Jersey Devils and rival team, the Buffalo Beauts were acquired by Pegula Sports Entertainment, the owners of the Buffalo Sabres.

This past month, the league branched out into the expansion market and added the Minnesota Whitecaps to compete with the Riveters, Beauts, Connecticut Whale and Boston Pride. Kessel could return to Pittsburgh during the 2018-2019 season as the league is planning a neutral site game for the market for the third straight year.

Hockey Star and Fashion Designer

Off the ice, Kessel is working on creating a clothing line and working with GONGSHOW, a lifestyle hockey apparel brand company to help promote it. For more information and updates on her AK28 line, visit www.amandakessel.com.

As one of the sport’s most popular players, Kessel led the league in apparel sales for the 2016-2017 NWHL season. Her Riveters jerseys and shirsey T-shirts are once again available for sale at www.NWHL.zone/shop. Every player receives 15 percent of the proceeds, from the merchandise with their name on it.

Kessel and the Riveters are set to defend the Isobel Cup in October. The Riveters play their home games at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House in Newark, New Jersey. The venue is also the state of the art practice facility of the Devils, that is attached to the Prudential Center.