Phil Kessel is excited to take on a leadership role with a youthful Arizona Coyotes team that last reached the playoffs in 2012.

Kessel, who was acquired in June from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Alex Galchenyuk and prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph, told NHL.com on Thursday that it will be a new experience for him after 13 seasons in the league.

"I'm looking forward to it," Kessel said. "I haven't really got to have that in my career. I think it's going to be great. I'm going to do whatever I can to help these guys win and help them improve. [If] the young guys have questions or anything they want to talk about, I'm there to talk about it. Try to get our team better and them better.

"I'm not a rah-rah guy, to say the least," Kessel added. "I just want to be a good guy. Guys can relate to me, and I like to have fun. If they want to talk hockey, I like to talk hockey too. But all in all, just enjoy ourselves first and foremost because if you enjoy yourself you can play your best. Be loose and be prepared to play."

Kessel is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and has reached the 20-goal mark in 11 straight seasons, topping 30 goals six times. Coyotes general manager John Chayka said Wednesday he believes Kessel can set an example for the team's young forwards.

"Everyone leads in their own way, and Phil can be a leader in the sense of grabbing young players and talking to them about those situations, what he sees, how he creates offence, how he's done it over a number of years, been one of the most successful guys in the league at doing that," Chayka said. "That was a big part of it. We wanted someone that has Phil's mind for the game and can help our young players in that sense."

Following his trade to the Coyotes, Kessel refuted Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford's statement that he had requested a trade from the team. The 31-year-old winger used his no-trade clause to veto a trade to the Minnesota Wild earlier this summer before eventually joining Arizona.

"You never know you're going to get traded, [but] you can always sense when your time maybe has come to an end," Kessel said Thursday. "I had a great four years there. But I'm really looking forward to the opportunity in Arizona, looking to prove myself again, show people what I've got. You always want to prove yourself and have a good year and have a big year, and hopefully we can do great things."