SOCHI, Russia – Amanda Kessel is thinking about her DNA.

It’s two days before the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Kessel, the 22-year-old offensive dynamo for the U.S. women’s hockey team, is fielding familiar questions about her bloodlines from curious media, much of it Canadian.

Her father, Phil Kessel, Sr., was a journeyman quarterback that played nine games for the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders in 1982. “Neither one of my parents can really skate, but my father would always come on the ice in his boots and pass me pucks,” said Amanda Kessel. “I guess his vision, as far as being a quarterback … it’s just kinda in our genes.”

How’s her throwing arm?

“Not good,” she deadpans.

But the majority of the questions are, as usual, about another Phil Kessel: Her brother, a star winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Only Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos have more goals in the last three NHL seasons than Kessel (87) does.

“A lot of people say we look a lot alike on the ice. I always wondered how that’d happen. It has to be genetics,” said Amanda Kessel, matter of factly. “We skate pretty similar. But I don’t quite have the same release as him.”

She answers questions about their childhood, his subdued personality vs. her engaging one, whether they’ve talked before Sochi, whether they plan on talking in Sochi, whether they have a personal bet surrounding the Olympic hockey tournaments … even one about Phil Kessel’s condo as seen on HBO "24/7".

She answers them all, even as journalists qualify questions with “I know you’re probably sick of this, but …” Despite her own incredible achievements – 97 goals in 114 games at the University of Minnesota, back to back NCAA titles and a spot on the U.S. women’s Olympic ice hockey team – she knows she’s defined by her brother’s hockey stardom.

But she could rewrite that definition by the end of the month.

Simply put, Amanda Kessel is one of the few women’s hockey players the U.S. has produced that’s poised for stardom.

She has all the hallmarks of potential stardom: Impressive goal scoring totals, and the flashy speed moves that go with them; a cohesive, possibly dominating line; a competitive ferocity, tempered by her jovial nature; the potential to have a gold medal around her neck by tournament’s end; and, of course, a name that has already made her familiar to legions of hockey fans.

But heading into the Sochi Games, where many fans will get their first glimpse of Kessel’s game, that’s all she’s been: a familiar name.

So who is Amanda Kessel?

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Amanda Kessel Is Lethal.

Smart. Crafty. Dynamic.

Katey Stone, the U.S. women’s coach, lists the Amanda Kessel adjectives like a checklist, before adding, “And she’ll work her tail off.”

It’s a recipe that’s made Kessel one of the most successful offensive players in the history of collegiate Div. I women’s hockey. With 101 points in 36 games during the 2012-13 campaign, Kessel became only the fourth player in NCAA history to reach 100 points in a season. She became just the ninth player to reach 200 career points and needing only three seasons to do so. She won both USA Hockey’s player of the year award and the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the best women’s college hockey player in the U.S.

Julie Chu won that award in 2007. Now in her fourth Olympics, she’s seen plenty of young players ascend the ranks; but the 31-year-old forward believes Kessel’s an exceptional one.

“When she steps out there, she’s so deceptive. It’s amazing. When the puck’s on her stick you have to give her space because you’re not sure if she’s going to blow by you or do a quick dangle and dish the puck to someone else. Her craftiness opens up space for herself and the team,” said Chu, after the team’s first practice in Sochi.

Brianna Decker is Kessel’s linemate on the U.S. team and has known her since they were seven years old. “She brings a lot of skill. Makes things happen fast out there. Great eyesight,” said Decker, standing in a large auditorium in Sochi after the team’s kick-off press conference.

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