How Michael Kesselring saved the Utah Hockey Club

On March 2, 2023, Michael Kesselring — a largely unknown AHL player at the time — was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Arizona Coyotes. The Oilers were gearing up for a playoff run and they concluded that Nick Bjugstad would help them get where they wanted to go.

They sent Kesselring and a third-round pick to the Coyotes for Bjugstad, who would rejoin the Coyotes as a free agent that summer. Less than two years later, Kesselring has established himself as an integral part of the Utah Hockey Club roster.

"(It's) just confidence level," Kesselring said. "I think I came in this year knowing that I was ready to go, 100 percent."

That confidence has shown in Kesselring's play. He has shown little hesitance to jump up in the rush, which has resulted in breakaways, goals and highlight reel passes.

"There's going to be ups and downs throughout the year — It's a long year, but just trying to play as consistent as I can and show the staff here that I can be a top-four D-man permanently in the future and just keep building on that."

Kesselring also said playing for Team USA at the World Championship last spring helped his confidence. He played primarily with Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski — probably one of the better players to learn from in the league.

Turning injury into opportunity The opportunity for Kesselring to prove himself came when injuries struck the right side of the Utah HC defense corps. John Marino has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury, while Durzi went down with a shoulder injury in the fourth game of the season.

Kesselring's ice time increased by more than three minutes the game after Durzi's injury. Players are never glad to see their teammates get hurt, but one man's injury is another man's opportunity.

"I'm just trying to roll with it," he said.

Now, Kesselring's focus is on playing at a high level every game. Utah HC head coach André Tourigny often says that a true NHL player is not someone who has on amazing game followed by three bad ones. An NHL player, he says, is someone who can play well night in and night out.

"The big talk I've had with the coaches is just consistency," Tourigny said. "Building a good routine on game days and trying to make every day as similar as you can. Eating better, sleeping better."

In 16 games so far this year, the 6-foot-4 defenseman has three goals and nine points.