Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Delivers two assists Wednesday
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Kesselring delivered two assists while adding one shot on goal, three hits and two blocked shots in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
Kesselring delivered his second multi-point effort of the season and is slowly finding some consistency, as he's now cracked the scoresheet in three of his last six outings. Even though his role as a third-pairing defenseman limits his upside considerably, he's putting up decent numbers. With nine points across 16 outings, he looks on pace to set career-best figures if he stays healthy. His best production came in 2023-24, when he recorded 21 points in 65 games with the Coyotes.
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Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Finds twine in win
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Kesselring deposited an even-strength marker in Thursday's 4-2 victory over the Blues.
Kesselring opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the contest after being set up by Clayton Keller. Kesselring added three shots, one hit, and a plus-2 rating in 23:23 of ice time. It was the right-shot blueliner's first goal in his last eight games. The South Carolina native produced 21 points over 65 regular-season games in 2023-24, and he's well on his way to exceeding that number this season. Overall, Kesselring has provided three goals, four assists, 15 PIM, 19 shots, 10 blocks, 21 hits and a plus-6 rating over 14 appearances.
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Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Garners assist in win
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Kesselring notched an assist and two PIM in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Flames.
Kesselring saw just 13:33 of ice time in this contest, but there's plenty of explanations for that. He's coming off an illness that kept him out of practice Tuesday, Utah traded for defenseman Olli Maatta and had him in the lineup and the team dressed seven blueliners. The addition of Maatta leads to some potential that Kesselring will see fewer minutes, though that loss of ice time would likely be in mostly defensive situations. Through 11 appearances, Kesselring has six points, 15 shots on net, 16 hits, nine blocked shots, 15 PIM and a plus-6 rating.
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Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Status uncertain for Wednesday
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Kesselring is dealing with an illness and his status for Wednesday's matchup versus Calgary is in question, according to Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Kesselring seems to have picked up an ailment after Monday's 5-4 overtime loss to San Jose, as he had 22:42 of ice time in the game. The right-shot blueliner has recorded two goals, three assists, eight blocks, 13 PIM, 14 shots, 15 hits and a plus-5 rating through 10 appearances. An update on Kesselring's availability will likely come before the puck drops in Utah on Wednesday.
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Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Thrives in larger role
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Kesselring scored a goal, dished an assist, blocked two shots and went plus-3 in Wednesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Ducks.
Kesselring moved up to the top pairing at even strength, replacing Sean Durzi (upper body) alongside Mikhail Sergachev. The 24-year-old Kesselring saw 21:58 of ice time Wednesday, and that was without a power-play role, as Juuso Valimaki stepped onto the second power-play unit. Kesselring could eventually be a factor there as well, but for now, he's an interesting option for deep fantasy formats. He has three points, seven shots on net, seven hits, six blocked shots, a plus-6 rating and seven PIM through five contests.
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Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Records helper Tuesday
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Kesselring posted an assist, two hits, two blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Blackhawks.
Kesselring set up the first goal in Utah's NHL history, finding Dylan Guenther for the tally at 4:56 of the first period. As a rookie last year, Kesselring was steady with 21 points, 106 hits, 66 PIM, 59 blocked shots and a plus-11 rating over 65 appearances. He's not guaranteed a spot in Utah's lineup this season, but his playing time should be safe at least until John Marino (upper body) returns.
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Michael Kesselring: Signs two-year deal
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Kesselring signed a two-year, $2.8 million contract with Utah HC on Friday, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
Kesselring was set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights Monday after completing his entry-level contract. The 24-year-old defenseman had five goals, 21 points, 66 PIM, 106 hits and 59 blocks in 65 regular-season outings with the Coyotes in 2023-24. Although he averaged a modest 15:48 of ice time last season, that climbed to 18:09 over his final 26 contests, and that increased role is likely to be reflective of how he's utilized in 2024-25.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Headed to AHL affiliate
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Kesselring was reassigned to AHL Tucson on Friday.
Kesselring drew into 65 games with the Coyotes this season, picking up 21 points and a plus-11 rating over that span. He'll likely see top-pairing minutes during Tucson's AHL playoff run.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Chips in with helper
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Kesselring notched an assist, two shots on goal and three blocked shots in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Oilers.
Kesselring finished the campaign with an assist in three straight contests. The 24-year-old defenseman held his own pretty well with 21 points, 76 shots on net, 66 PIM, 106 hits, 59 blocked shots and a plus-11 rating over 65 appearances this season. He'll be a restricted free agent this summer after completing his entry-level contract.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Sets up game-winner
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Kesselring notched an assist, two hits and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 3-2 overtime win over the Oilers.
Kesselring set up Matias Maccelli for the game-winner 1:35 into overtime. The helper was Kesselring's fourth over the last 10 contests. The 24-year-old defenseman has put together a decent first full season with 19 points, 73 shots on net, 105 hits, 53 blocked shots, 64 PIM and a plus-13 rating through 63 appearances in a bottom-four role.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Garners helper in win
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Kesselring notched an assist, six hits and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 7-4 win over the Golden Knights.
Kesselring set up an Alex Kerfoot tally in the second period, which opened the scoring. With three helpers and 15 hits over his last six contests, Kesselring continues to provide modest offense and solid physical play in a bottom-four role. The 24-year-old defenseman is at 18 points, 102 hits, 69 shots on net, 62 PIM and a plus-9 rating through 59 outings overall.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Hands out assist
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Kesselring logged an assist, three hits and four PIM in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Blue Jackets.
Kesselring has an assist in each of the last two games, and he's up to four points through 13 outings in March. The 24-year-old defenseman helped out on the second of Josh Doan's goals in this game. Kesselring has 17 points, 63 shots on net, 62 PIM, 93 hits and a plus-6 rating over 55 appearances on the year as a bottom-four option.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Posts helper
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Kesselring notched an assist, three hits and two PIM in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Stars.
Kesselring has three points, 22 hits, 13 blocked shots, 17 PIM, 18 shots on net and a plus-7 rating over 12 contests in March. Outside of the lack of offense, that's solid work for the 24-year-old defenseman, who continues to play in a bottom-four role. For the season, he has 16 points, 62 shots on net, 90 hits, 45 blocked shots, 58 PIM and a plus-5 rating over 54 appearances. Kesselring likely still has another level to his game, but his fantasy value is limited to deep formats in 2023-24.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Nabs assist in loss
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Kesselring posted an assist, three shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots and two PIM in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Wild.
Kesselring did a little of everything in this contest. The 24-year-old snapped his four-game slump with a helper on Nick Bjugstad's tally. Kesselring continues to see bottom-four minutes for the Coyotes, but he's been able to hold his place in the lineup for a majority of the season. The defenseman is at 15 points, 78 hits, 37 blocked shots, 47 PIM and 52 shots on net through 49 outings.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Up from minors
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Kesselring was called up from AHL Tucson and will play Friday versus Detroit.
Kesselring was briefly sent to the minors in a paper transaction. He has five goals, 14 points, 45 PIM and 72 hits in 46 contests with Arizona in 2023-24.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Assigned to AHL
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Kesselring was sent down to AHL Tucson on Friday, per Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports.
Kesselring was sent down in order to become eligible for the AHL playoffs. The 24-year-old has had a solid season in Arizona, logging five goals and nine assists in 46 games played. He should be right back with the Coyotes ahead of Friday night's game versus Detroit, as he's been playing on the second defensive pairing with Juuso Valimaki lately.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Assists in consecutive outings
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Kesselring notched an assist, two hits and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Wild.
Kesselring has a helper in each of the last two games following a four-game slump that also saw him sit out once as a healthy scratch. The defenseman continues to look NHL-ready with 11 points, 29 shots on net, 32 hits, 17 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating through 24 outings. Kesselring can be expected to see sheltered minutes on the third pairing.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Scores again Thursday
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Kesselring scored a goal and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Sharks.
Kesselring scored for the second game in a row and the third time in his last six outings. The 23-year-old surprisingly stayed in the lineup over Juuso Valimaki with Sean Durzi returning from a lower-body injury in this contest. Kesselring is up to eight points, 18 shots on net, 16 hits, 14 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating through 16 appearances. He's unlikely to see more than third-pairing usage if he can maintain his spot with the big club.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Nets first NHL goal
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Kesselring scored a goal in Monday's 5-2 road loss against the Sabres.
It was Kesselring's first NHL marker in 20 career games across the past two seasons. He ended up taking two shots on goal while posting one blocked shot and two hits in 11:07 of ice time across 19 shifts. Kesselring has picked up a goal, five points and a plus-1 rating across the past six games -- he's gone scoreless in just one outing during that span. The 23-year-old will look to stay hot as the road trip continues Tuesday against the Penguins.
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Coyotes' Michael Kesselring: Assist streak at four games
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Kesselring logged an assist, two blocked shots and two PIM in Monday's 6-0 win over the Capitals.
Kesselring has a helper in each of the last four games, and he's gone plus-7 across his last six outings. The 23-year-old is proving himself more and more ready for at least a third-pairing role as he sticks in the lineup. With Sean Durzi (lower body) leaving Monday's game early, the Coyotes may not have to make a decision between Kesselring and Josh Brown for a little longer, especially if Travis Dermott (hand) returns to keep the team rolling with seven-blueliner lineups.
