Amanda Kessel, Comeback Kid

Her name is one of the most well-known in women's hockey, and she is one of the most heavily-anticipated NWHL players since the inaugural season's promised addition, Hillary Knight.

She is an Olympian, a collegiate champion, and the newest New York Riveter.

She is Amanda Kessel.

After a year and a half of battling a concussion resulting from an illegal hit during a game at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Amanda Kessel hit the ice for her final season with Minnesota University's Golden Gophers. Her comeback was not without its benefits, as Kessel was able to celebrate the Gophers' Women's Frozen Four win after chipping in the game-winning goal against Boston University.

For the first time, Kessel is playing professional women's hockey.

In an interview with Hemal Jhaveri of USA Today's sports journalism site, For the Win, Kessel delved in to what it means to come back to the sport:

"For two years [the concussion] went on and I lost more and more faith that I’d be be back playing. And for the last year that I had it, I just got to the point where I wanted to be able to just live life, and do normal things, like go out to eat with friends and hang out . So, finally when a doctor told me that no doubt I’d be playing hockey again, it turned everything around."

That turnaround included Kessel's signing to the New York Riveters, who have made her the highest-paid player in the league. This season, Kessel will earn a salary of $26,000--chump change to most professional athletes, but an astounding amount to a budding league.

This figure made all of the difference to Kessel, who was offered contracts with multiple leagues, one of which being the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), a league that has been preaching their desires to play athletes, but has yet to deliver.

"I just knew that I would like to play in the NWHL. One, obviously being paid is nice and then it is an American league so there was another pull as well," Kessel said in an interview with Yahoo Sports' Jen Neale this past May.

With the start of the preseason, Kessel has shown that she is worth what she has demanded. In the Riveters' first preseason game against the Russian women's national hockey team on September 25, Kessel netted a goal at the start of the third period, unleashing the fan excitement that has been building up throughout the offseason. This goal ended up being the game winner as the Riveters championed the Russians, the final score 2-1.

Kessel's season will surely be filled with even more promise, and she is certainly a contender to hoist the Isobel Cup at the end of this season.

Follow Amanda Kessel on Twitter: @AmandaKessel8

For more information about the NWHL, how to buy tickets, and the upcoming season, please visit nwhl.zone!