‘It’s okay to focus on quality over quantity' — How Michael Kesselring is adjusting to new Utah Hockey Club role

Edmonton, Alberta • Michael Kesselring admitted the last stretch of hockey has been hard on him.

The defenseman went from an elevated role at the start of the season — top-pair minutes and power-play time — to shorter shifts and less responsibility.

It is not entirely a reflection of him as a player, though. Utah Hockey Club has just gotten healthier on the backend in the past two months with the returns of John Marino and Sean Durzi from injury.

Accordingly, Kesselring has had to reimagine his purpose and the way he can impact games.

“I get it, we have five [defensemen] that have played a lot of games and played in playoffs and stuff like that,” Kesselring said. “It’s kind of new to me at this level so I get where they’re coming from a little bit. I’m just trying to do whatever I can in the limited minutes.”

Kesselring played against the team that drafted him on Tuesday in Utah’s 7-1 loss.

The Edmonton Oilers traded Kesselring to the Arizona Coyotes in March 2023 after he spent the better part of three seasons with their AHL affiliate the Bakersfield Condors. It was with the Coyotes that Kesselring made his NHL debut and got a real chance to establish himself in the lineup.

“It was kind of the most exciting time of my career, honestly, just trying to take that next step and be a full-timer,” Kesselring said.

Kesselring is the youngest of Utah’s active D-corps and, compared to his counterparts, has less experience in the high-stakes contests the Club finds itself in as the regular season winds down. Head coach André Tourigny has more so relied on the likes of Mikhail Sergachev, Olli Määttä and Marino in the moments Kesselring once found himself in.

The goal — and what Kesselring is working on — is not viewing that as a demotion. Instead, Tourigny wants Kesselring to embrace the opportunity he does have and use the rest to be more productive when he eventually hits the ice.

“He’s playing well. I think especially the last couple of games when everybody went back, his ice time dropped a little bit,” Tourigny said. “He needed a little bit of time to adjust — not in terms of his performance but just mentally. I think he has performed really well since then.”

A big part of that transition for Kesselring has been leaning on the support of his D-partner Ian Cole. The two have skated together on the third pair for the majority of the season. This is Cole’s 15th NHL season and he has made the playoffs in 14 consecutive years. It’s safe to say the 36-year-old defenseman has the perspective to help.

“He’s been like my father figure. I’m not going to lie, it’s been hard mentally during this stretch. I feel like I can help the team so it hurts me because I want to help the team so bad,” Kesserling said. “He’s been really good with me — telling me what he sees and how I’ve been playing. Just to keep going.”

Utah is the ninth NHL team Cole has played for. He has had to adjust his role on different rosters to elongate his career and it has earned him two Stanley Cups in the making. As one of the veteran voices in the room, Cole has kept Kesselring leveled.

“We’ve talked a lot about it and how to approach it and handle it mentally. He’s doing a great job. He’s played some of his best hockey in the last two weeks,” Cole said. “He’s a great kid and he’s a great hockey player. He’s playing some less minutes now and that’s okay. That’s what we’ve talked about. It’s okay to focus on quality over quantity.”

For the first half of the year before Utah got healthy, Kesserling was playing close to 20 minutes a night. Now he is logging between 12 and 15 minutes per game. Moments like his fight against the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Simon Benoit on March 10 or his two-assist showing against the Detroit Red Wings on March 6 are examples of ways in which Kesselring is looking to make a difference in his second full NHL season (he played just nine games with Arizona in 2022-23).

Kesselring, if he can put it all together consistently, is somewhat of a unicorn for an NHL defenseman. He’s 6-foot-5, 215 pounds but is a speedy, strong skater, can move the puck, has one of the hardest shots in the league, is physical and can bear down on defensive fundamentals when needed.

“I’m a good skater so I have more energy to go every shift — that’s been one thing I’ve been trying to do, use my legs as much as I can when I’m out there and try to create some plays,” Kesselring. “In this role, too, you have to be responsible defensively. I cannot let up big chances or I’m not going to play.”

Away from the rink, Kesselring is attempting to escape the pressure and adjustments of an NHL regular. That’s been one of the most challenging parts, he said, making mental separation between his play and personal life. What helps?

“Just hanging out with the guys — we have such an unbelievable group in there. It’s my favorite team I’ve ever played on,” Kesselring said. “We’re such a close group and honestly just hanging out with them off the ice and stuff like that.”

Utah signed Kesselring to a two-year, $1.4 million contract in June; he won’t be a restricted free agent until the 2026-27 campaign. It is just the start for Kesselring, and those around him are trying to remind the defenseman of that as often as they can.

“He’s very honest, he’s very straightforward, he means well. He’s a kid that has a lot of confidence but not over-confident. He’s very sure of himself as a player and you’ve got to love that. You’ve got to appreciate that,” Cole said. “He’ll be a very good player in this league for a very long time.”

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