For the 2003–04 season, Kessel moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to join the United States National Team Development Program's U17 squad. He set NTDP records for goals (52) for a U17–18 players. During the 2004–05 season, Kessel played full-time on the U18 team scoring 52 goals and 98 points, both of which were, at the time, records for an U18 player. His points record was surpassed by Patrick Kane who recorded 102 points and same 52 goals in the next 2005–06 season. Almost 15 years later, on March 15, 2019, another Wisconsin phenom Cole Caufield scored a career-high six goals to reach 105 and pass Kessel's career 104 goals from 2003–05 for the NTDP lead.