Why Phil Kessel is the coolest guy in hockey and the media sucks

[James_tanner123]

http://thehockeywriters.com/phil-kes...uy-in-the-nhl/

[Canucks_fan18]

I agree Phil is the man and not only underrated in real hockey but fantasy as well.

[Pengwin7]

I'll give this one a thumbs up.
The content is really good... especially as a reminder to people on what Kessel has overcome.
If the article stripped out some of the text that could alientate some readers (just due to unneeded over-opinionated spew)... I'd give it a 10/10, A+ full marks.
There are so many good things that I can overlook the one or two really abrasive comments.

Biggest flaw, IMO:
I don’t care what you value in hockey players or in the game of hockey in general, if you value anything over goal-scoring, whether it’s defense, leadership or any other intangible un-measurable feeling you can think to apply – you are wrong.

Nope.
Alexander Ovechkin is probably still considered the best goal-scorer in the NHL.
But if you asked the NHL GMs to pick the guy they'd start their team with, I'd bet that Crosby, Toews and Weber are all probably picked before Ovechkin.
WINNING is the most important thing in hockey.

I'm not wrong.
Winning is more important than scoring goals.
You... you are wrong.

Good content (but being honest, you are going nowhere as a writer if your stuff keeps being so opinionated that it overlooks truths... and I say this actually trying to be helpful. BTW - I think you've had enough of my negative comments... surely, so I'll make this my last comment on your pieces. Good luck going forward.)

[blayze]

Thanks for the article, solid read.

I was one of the Kessel doubters early on but he's quickly gained my respect and admiration.

I didn't know Carlyle sold him out after the recent outburst (which I enjoyed and found refreshing... an edgier Kessel), but its disappointing to see. Carlyle is shit, never liked him as a coach or a person, can't wait till the fans turn on him and he gets canned.

[SergeP]

I'll give this one a thumbs up.
The content is really good... especially as a reminder to people on what Kessel has overcome.
If the article stripped out some of the text that could alientate some readers (just due to unneeded over-opinionated spew)... I'd give it a 10/10, A+ full marks.
There are so many good things that I can overlook the one or two really abrasive comments.

Biggest flaw, IMO:
I don’t care what you value in hockey players or in the game of hockey in general, if you value anything over goal-scoring, whether it’s defense, leadership or any other intangible un-measurable feeling you can think to apply – you are wrong.

Nope.
Alexander Ovechkin is probably still considered the best goal-scorer in the NHL.
But if you asked the NHL GMs to pick the guy they'd start their team with, I'd bet that Crosby, Toews and Weber are all probably picked before Ovechkin.
WINNING is the most important thing in hockey.

I'm not wrong.
Winning is more important than scoring goals.
You... you are wrong.

Good content (but being honest, you are going nowhere as a writer if your stuff keeps being so opinionated that it overlooks truths... and I say this actually trying to be helpful. BTW - I think you've had enough of my negative comments... surely, so I'll make this my last comment on your pieces. Good luck going forward.)

Who are you talking to right now? Are there two of you in this post? I'm confused.

Kidding aside, I agree with you, I could barely read through the article because of all the Leafs "fanboy" drivel it contained. It's too bad because I think Kessel is an interesting guy and would love to get a behind the scenes look into his life on and off the ice ...

[marshal]

I get the universal desire for fans to come to Kessel's defence, but blatantly overlooking untruths really undermines this article.

The "Kessel trade" has been analyzed to death but it's hardly irrelevant. Seguin has become elite himself and Hamilton could very well become a top-pairing defencemen. It's still a controversial trade even if Seguin has been dealt since. Given the opportunity to have Kessel or Seguin and Hamilton and what would your choice be?

"Learning to back-check" is pretty much a cop-out. As long as the desire is there to skate back and help defend your own zone, there really isn't any "learning" to do. If players widely considered to be "one-dimensional" put forth the same effort as a Toews or Backes or Bergeron or Datsyuk (to name a few), that term wouldn't really exist. Kessel still has a very long way to go before he sheds the one-dimensional title, IMO.

"Phil Kessel has now made it so that anyone who questions his heart, calls him soft, or worries about his leadership is an idiot."

I don't see how the quote above is credible. By refusing to talk to Siegel and offering a flippant remark after a tough loss, any questions regarding Kessel's character can only be offered by an "idiot"? Why is that?

I'd agree that the media is suffocating at times and players are unfairly portrayed at times, but Kessel isn't the only guy who has to deal with the media. If you listen to Phaneuf's answers/comments during an interview, they're pretty much recycled. He repeats the same things and doesn't create any controversy because his responses leave a dead end for the reporter. Crosby still garners the most attention in the NHL and if the Pens underachieve (which seems to have become a problem), he has a lot to answer for since the Pens are widely-considered as Cup contenders. If the Hawks falter, Toews has a lot to answer for, as do guys like Doughty and Bergeron.

Determining that Kessel is "literally one of the best goal scorers in NHL history" is pretty ignorant considering he has 233 career goals and the 500-goal mark is considered something special. Would you place him in the same category as Mike Bossy or Brett Hull?

I think the media could probably lay off Kessel and his awkwardness and tendency to be shy, but the fundamentalism of hockey coverage by journalists in Toronto or any other market isn't going to change because one player told a reporter off, or because that same player would rather not speak to the media every day.

If you're a big Leaf fan, Kessel supporter and willing to ignore some of the total inaccuracies, while embracing some of the more far-fetched notions on these boards, this would appeal to you.

Having said that, there's no doubt that you have a tremendous amount of passion for your team, but I think gaining some objectivity could really help your writing material in terms of credibility.

[theIceWookie]

Thanks for the article, solid read.

I was one of the Kessel doubters early on but he's quickly gained my respect and admiration.

I didn't know Carlyle sold him out after the recent outburst (which I enjoyed and found refreshing... an edgier Kessel), but its disappointing to see. Carlyle is shit, never liked him as a coach or a person, can't wait till the fans turn on him and he gets canned.

I'm surprised more fans haven't turned on him yet honestly...

[wendelclark17]

I'm surprised more fans haven't turned on him yet honestly...

I think it is because he is pretty much a lame duck at this point. I think most ardent fans can see that he will be gone at the end of the season and they don't want a stop-gap ..... besides maybe Shanahan wants to keep Carlyle around to have a shot at McDavid

[bondon]

What did Carlyle say?