He fights, he scores: Newcomer’s unusual skill set sparks Idaho Steelheads
If there are two things a fans wants to see happen on the ice when attending an Idaho Steelheads game, it’s a goal and a fight — and not necessarily in that order.
Kale Kessy is the rare guy who regularly provides both.
Kessy, in his first year with the Steelheads, leads the team in penalty minutes and is fourth in points (goals and assists combined). He’s second in points per game with nine goals and 15 assists in 27 appearances, including a pair of goals in a loss to Allen on Wednesday night.
The Steelheads face Allen again at 7:10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at CenturyLink Arena.
If Kessy keeps scoring, he soon could be leading the team in points and penalty minutes per game.
“I don’t know if it’s ever been done,” Steelheads captain A.J. White said. “It’s gotta be something rare, that’s for sure.”
Kessy is a 6-foot-3, 212-pound “power forward” from Saskatchewan — recruited to add some physicality to the Steelheads’ lineup. But he’s much more than that, coach Neil Graham said. Kessy plays the minutes of a first-line forward, contributing to the power play and the penalty kill, and is a good fit in the locker room.
When the Steelheads are sluggish, like they were in the first period Wednesday, they count on Kessy for a spark — and he’ll look for an opportunity to provide that, whether that means creating a goal, delivering a glass-rattling hit or picking a fight.
“He has such a high level of compete every night,” Graham said. “Obviously the physicality is something that excites the fans. ... It’s a little bit of a throwback, where you don’t see guys with his skill and his ability fighting as much and playing such a physical role. But it’s what makes him special.”
Kessy has helped the Steelheads to a .645 winning percentage just past the midway point of the season, putting them in a tight, three-way race for first place in the ECHL Mountain Division. He was drawn to the Steelheads in part by his experience playing against them in Boise while playing for Tulsa.
“This was my favorite city that I played at,” Kessy said. “... (Graham) said he thought he could help me out.”
Kessy spent four seasons in the junior Western Hockey League, primarily with Medicine Hat. He joined the pro ranks in 2013-14 and has split time between the higher-level American Hockey League (160 games) and ECHL (114 games). He missed the early part of the Steelheads’ season because he was on the roster of the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.
The 26-year-old hopes success in Boise will lead to more opportunities.
“I feel like I’m still young,” he said. “We have a really good team here. Hopefully we can make a deep playoff push. Going to the next level is still the goal, but it’s got to be the right opportunity. I love Boise. I like being here. I’m just focused on this right now.”
Statistically, Kessy is on his way to the best season of his career. He set career highs last year with 14 goals, 35 points and 300 penalty minutes between the ECHL and ACL. He’d eclipse all of those totals at his current pace — easily.
Perhaps the biggest impediment to his scoring is his penalty minutes, which not only take him off the ice short term but led to a league suspension earlier this season. One of his roles is to defend his teammates when he objects to the way they’re treated. On Wednesday, he took a questionable cross-checking penalty when he pushed a player who had grabbed a Steelhead near the goal.
“I’m always willing to stick up for my teammates,” Kessy said, “or try to get momentum if we need some. ... It’s definitely a fine edge. I feel like I’m at my best or most efficient when I’m finding that fine line, playing physical and hard, keeping it simple and trying to open up space for my linemates.”
Kessy’s reputation has led to some penalties that wouldn’t have been called on others, Graham said. It’s part of the price of the “heavy” role he plays.
But Graham doesn’t want anyone to think Kessy is an enforcer. He’s too well-rounded for that.
“He’s as tough as enforcers, but he plays over 20 minutes a night,” Graham said. “He’s a power forward with a high level of skill and great vision. And then he’s also a guy who will do anything for his team. If a teammate gets wronged on the ice, he’s going to correct it.”
Kessy enjoys the physical side of the game but it’s not a reflection of who he is off the ice, he said.
The first fight he was ever in, he said, was as a rookie in the Western Hockey League. An opponent asked him to fight, so he did.
And he’s been doing it ever since. Hockeyfights.com credits him with 12 fights this season and 35 since the start of last season.
Earlier this season, one opponent circled Kessy and tried to jump into him. Kessy essentially finished that fight with one punch, then gestured to the crowd to let the fans know how easy it was.
But in the locker room, Kessy is known as soft-spoken and witty.
“You find the switch,” he said. “Off the ice, I think I’m pretty easy-going. But definitely on the ice, I love to play that (physical) way.”