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Everyone loves Friday, because it means it's Phil time at Pensburgh.
Previous Phil Fridays:
Here we go!
National Hot Dog day was yesterday
NHL star admits to liking to eat hot dogs before games. We're talking Phil Kessel, right? Nope.
I bet the Toronto media probably would have tried to run the Great One out of town too.
Wayne Gretzky Invented The Phil Kessel Hot Dog Diet http://t.co/g8krIybGSo pic.twitter.com/KnBBpnYonD
— Chief (@BarstoolChief) July 22, 2015
Youtube of the week
That time Kessel beat Tyler Seguin skating a lap at the All-Star game.
I mean surely the young stud Seguin (google the pics on your own!) will easily walk away with this against the out-of-shape and uninterested Kessel, right?
As the old saying goes: "don't judge a book by its cover". Kessel knows how to wheel, and perhaps more importantly he's just as quick and fast in game situations and with the puck on his stick. When he puts that to use for the Penguins once Kris Letang or Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby springs him for long passes, it's gonna be a thing of beauty, you guys.
Unintentional LOL of the Week
Props to a great twitter follow, and friend of the blog @kikkerlaika who brought this great blog entry into our world, entitled "Using Advanced Stats to debunk Phil defenders"
So many hidden gems. Like how the analysis is led off by Kessel's "hits/per20mins" (spoiler: it's very low!), and so too are his blocked shots. And this player that has the puck a lot, also gives the puck away occasionally! Surely these most advanced of stats have illustrated why Phil Kessel (you know, the guy with 275 points since 2011-12 to now, despite being centered by Tyler Bozak 75% of the time [second best among all wingers except Alex Ovechkin's 281]) isn't any good, right?
I mean he doesn't hit, block shots and gives the puck away. What a bum!
For some reason, there's still a lot of Phil Kessel love. I don't understand it. If you actually understand the game and know what's going on, then no one would ever defend Phil. I'm going to explain why. Just as I'm going to take the time to explain why it means precisely squat as to what Phil does the rest of his career. How he could score 50 goals, and it wouldn't matter.
You just have to read the rest for yourself for some even better gems. Ain't the internet grand.
Sad Kessel moment of the week
Unfortunately this week it's not all fun and games on Phil Friday. Phil's sister Amanda had to announce her retirement from college hockey due to concussion issues. She also did not play in 2014-15.
She recorded 97 goals and 231 points in three college seasons before the injury, and if she was uninjured she had a chance to be the all-time leading scorer in women's college history. She also helped the USA win a silver medal in 2014, and would be a driving force to try and get gold for the good old U-S of A in 2018, if she can feel better by then (let's all hope!)
She even has the old candy cane tape job on her stick like big brother.
All the best to you, Amanda.
VINE VINE VINE
And just to end on a slightly happier note, this game winning goal in overtime last year. Phil looks like he's a playing in a men's league, catching up to a puck, getting into a prime scoring area and doing what a natural goal scorer does. Game. over.
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Enjoy the weekend and we'll see you here again next week for the summer of Phil Fridays :)