Here is story about former Bruins and Gopher forward Phil Kessel. Looks like he has taken it up a notch during his off season conditioning. It will be interesting to see how the Leafs fans respond to Kessel if Tyler Seguin starts lighting it up for the Boston Bruins and Kessel stumbles.
Toronto Sun -- If Phil Kessel has a goal for goals this season, he’s not sharing.
But could being fit mean 40 for the lone, proven sniper on the Maple Leafs roster as training camp begins?
Kessel arrived for team physicals Friday at the Mastercard Centre looking noticeably trimmer, the product of an intense summer that saw him shed 10 pounds. Speedy already, his teammates say that in informal workouts the past few weeks, Kessel has had a jump on everyone on the ice.
“Just look at him, he looks really good, really fit,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said of Kessel. “When scrimmaging, you could see how fast he was then and we haven’t even started training camp.”
Whether a fitter Phil will lead to dramatically more production remains to be seen, but just having the chance to come to camp healthy is a huge boost for the 23-year-old Wisconsin native.
A year ago Kessel wasn’t yet a Leaf, still weeks away from the controversial trade that brought him here. While much of the off-season focus on that deal was Boston’s acquisition of Tyler Seguin with the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft, Kessel was apparently working hard to help hold up his end of the bargain.
After missing the first 12 games last year while recovering from off-season surgery, Kessel was thrust into the lineup of a Leafs team that had staggered out of the gate without the benefit of either an off-season workout regimen or a pre-season schedule to get in shape.
He still responded with 30 goals in 70 games, the last half dozen or more while nursing another injury.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Kessel said when asked if he’s prepared to be the Leafs’ go-to goal guy. “Hopefully I can play a full season this year.
