1. Both players teamed up with Tage Thompson at last month’s IIHF World Championship, helping the United States capture a gold medal – capped off by Thompson’s overtime goal in the championship game.

“Great guy, awesome (hockey) player,” Kesselring said of Thompson. “I already talked to him today a little bit on FaceTime, so we’re both really excited. We got along really well at Worlds so, yeah, it’s gonna be fun to be a part of.”

The three were already familiar with one another from prior offseasons, as the Arizona-born Thompson returned home and trained with the former Coyotes. And Kesselring and Doan recently golfed with the 44-goal scorer; Doan says Kesselring is the best golfer of the group, followed by Thompson.

“He’s someone that, over the last couple months, I’ve gotten to know really well,” added Doan. “… We grew a lot together, and he’s someone that I’m going to lean on a lot in the next couple months.”

2. Kesselring has fond memories of his new home arena. He scored his first NHL goal at KeyBank Center on Dec. 11, 2023, in a 5-2 Sabres win.

Then, this past December, he registered a Gordie Howe hat trick – a goal, an assist and a fight versus Beck Malenstyn – as Utah returned the favor with a 5-2 victory.

“The Gordie Howe hat trick is probably one of the highlights of my career so far,” Kesselring said. “It was really fun. I was joking with Tage at Worlds, that it’s like my favorite arena to play in; I scored my first NHL goal there, too. There’s a lot of good memories in that arena so far, so maybe it was meant to be.”

3. The Doan name should be familiar to most hockey fans. Josh’s dad, Shane, accumulated 972 points across 21 seasons with the Arizona franchise, retiring after 2016-17. As a result, Josh has spent much of his 23 years around – and learning from – NHL locker rooms.

“I think the biggest thing is how much more successful the team was when the guys got along and there was a good group involved, and that it takes everybody if you want to win,” he said. “… And then, at the end, how hard you have to work if you really want it – it takes a lot.

“… It was an advantage I had as a kid, seeing that side of the game. That’s something that I like to bring with me wherever I go. It was a huge blessing to have that.”