Michael Alan Kesselring (born January 13, 2000) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

currently playing for the

Utah Hockey Club The Utah Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey expansion team that will be based in Salt Lake City. The team will compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and will begin play ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected 164th overall by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

Playing career

Kesselring played high school hockey with

New Hampton School New Hampton School is an independent college preparatory high school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, United States. It has 305 students from over 30 states and 22 countries. The average class size is eleven, and the student-faculty ratio is five t ...

within the

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) is an organization that serves as the governing body for sports in preparatory schools and leagues in New England. The organization has 169 full member schools as well as 24 associate ...

before spending the conclusion of the 2017–18 season with the

Des Moines Buccaneers The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season. History The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL). In his first year of eligibility, with standout physical attributes and strong hockey sense, Kesselring was selected by the

of the

(NHL) in the sixth round, 164th overall, of the

. In his only full season in the USHL in 2018–19, Kesselring split the season between the Buccaneers and the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

before committing to a collegiate career with

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

of the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

. During his sophomore season in the NCAA, Kesselring opted to conclude his collegiate career and turn professional for the remainder of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season in signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on March 22, 2021. Appearing with their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home g ...

, on an amateur tryout basis, Kesselring collected three points through 21 regular season games and making six post-season appearances. In his first full professional season in 2021–22, Kesselring established himself on the Condors blueline, registering 2 goals and 13 points through 55 regular season games. Continuing with the Condors in his third season in the AHL in , Kesselring showed offensive development by scoring 13 goals and 22 points through only 49 games with Bakersfield. Approaching the NHL trade deadline, Kesselring was traded by the Oilers along with a

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

third-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for

Nick Bjugstad Nicholas Jay Bjugstad (born July 17, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Florida Panthers in the first round (19th overall) of t ...

and

Cam Dineen Cameron Dineen (born June 19, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Dineen was drafted 68th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and made his NH ...

on March 2, 2023. He was immediately recalled by the Coyotes and made his NHL debut the following day in a 6–1 defeat to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

Mullett Arena Mullett Arena (originally ASU Multi-Purpose Arena) is an indoor multipurpose arena at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. The 5,000-seat arena is the home of the Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey, men's ice hockey, Arizona State ...

. He was reassigned the following day to the Coyotes AHL affiliate, the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play for the 2016–17 season. Based in Tucson, Arizona, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes, the team plays i ...

, on March 4, 2023.

Personal

Kesselring was born at a hospital in

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

, the son of Casey and Shawndra Kesselring. His father, Casey, played professional hockey at the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

level and has served as a minor, high school and junior head coach since 2003. Michael was coached by his father during his high school tenure with New Hampton School. His younger brother, Mason, currently plays junior hockey with the

in the

(USHL) and is committed to play at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kesselring, Michael 2000 births Living people American ice hockey defensemen Arizona Coyotes players Bakersfield Condors players Des Moines Buccaneers players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Fargo Force players Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey players Tucson Roadrunners players