Versatility
Kesselring filled a variety of roles during his age-25 season. Early on, he played massive minutes while Utah’s blue line dealt with injuries to John Marino and Sean Durzi, among others; through January, he ranked third on the team in total ice time. With reduced minutes later in the year, Kesselring found other ways to impact the game (more on that below).
And he generated results with a range of defense partners, skating most of his 5-on-5 minutes with Ian Cole (701:28) and Mikhail Sergachev (206:34). When Kesselring was paired with Cole, a stay-at-home veteran, Utah outscored its opponents 27-21 and controlled 54 percent of shot attempts – plus 58 percent of high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
Paired with the offensively gifted, up-in-the-play Sergachev, meanwhile, Kesselring took a more defensive posture but still enjoyed success: an even goal differential, 61 percent of shot attempts and 58 percent of high-danger chances.
So, where does he fit on the Sabres? Those 2024-25 numbers suggest Kesselring could thrive alongside Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson or any of the team’s left-shot defensemen, making him an asset for Lindy Ruff and the coaching staff.