From the time she was young, Amanda Kessel had dreams of representing her country in the Olympics.

By age 22, she had reached that goal. By age 23, she had ostensibly lost everything.

Kessel's story is one of tragedy and triumph, a Shakespearean narrative in which the heroine reaches the mountaintop, yells to the heavens, but then falls from grace.

"As time went on I actually lost hope," she said.

It presented her with a crossroads, one that challenged her both physically and mentally. Kessel said she felt lost, disconnected from friends and family, and wasn't the same person.

For one of the best female hockey players on the planet, her passion, which had become such an integral part of her identity, had been stripped from her by a concussion.

Life became different.

Life became unbearably difficult.

"I wasn't even able to think about sitting in a classroom or I would have a hard time like having a conversation with somebody," she said. "I would just feel like I was out in left field, just looking at somebody and talking."

Her identity had been stolen from her. Her purpose had been unapologetically hijacked.

"She was really struggling with the symptoms and wasn't getting better," Brad Frost, Kessel's college coach said. "So some pretty dark days for her then."

As they sat in the locker room at Capital Ice Arena in Madison, Wis. 16 years ago, their normal routine began to play out.

Though it was just summer hockey featuring two families that had become good friends, the talent level was immensely high. It featured the likes of Ryan and Garrett Suter, Phil and Blake Kessel, and of course, Amanda.

Ryan and Blake would always be teammates, and also general managers for their shinny squad. Opposite them were Phil and Garrett, Madison Capital teammates as teenagers.

As the locker room draft for the day's rosters began, politicking over who would get the first pick went to caucuses.

Though the arguments changed, the top target was always Amanda.

"It was always kind of a race to who would get her, and make sure she was on their team," said Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. "She was good, man; she was really good. Just like she is now."

Amanda was predisposed to hockey at a young age. Older brothers Phil and Blake were always playing sports, and always around the rink. But Amanda's passion, according to Phil, was bred out of personal drive.

"We were pretty competitive around the house, and around the yard," said Phil, now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "It was definitely on her own. Growing up, Amanda was good at every sport she played. She was always the best soccer player, the best golfer. She was always good at the things she did. Growing up, she had her options, and she was a big fan of hockey."

It was around that age —12, she estimates — when Amanda's visions of representing her country began to take shape.

Read more at Wild.com.