One of the flaws to the Buffalo Sabres blueline compliment last season was that they were nearly all left-handed, making it necessary for Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power to play on their off side. GM Kevyn Adams tried to address this abnormality by adding acquiring a pair of right soht defensemen in Conor Timmins and Michael Kesselring. Timmins is expected to slot in on the bottom pairing with Mattias Samuelsson, but Kesselring’s role is could be critical to Buffalo’s playoff hopes.
"It's tough to get a 6'5", right-shot defenseman that can skate and play in your top four, especially kind of in their prime years. It's just very difficult." Adams said on Wednesday. "I felt strongly that he's a type of player that can slide in and play with Owen....but he's going to bring a presence. He's got a nastiness to him. He plays hard. He's still evolving as a player, but I think he's going to have every opportunity to have a big role here."
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The 25-year-old was a 2018 Edmonton Oilers draft pick and played three years in AHL Bakersfield before being included in a deal with Arizona that sent Nick Bjgustad to the Oilers in March 2023. In two seasons with the Coyotes/Utah, Kesselring posted a pair of 20+ points campaigns and saw his role expand with UHC, averaging nearly 18 minutes per game, but it appears that the Sabres are looking for the big blueliner to handle more responsibilities.
"He's long, he's competitive, he can skate, he's skilled enough to be able to make plays with with Owen, or whoever he's playing with. I see maybe an ability to kill plays in the defensive zone with his length and physicality, and then let's get the puck out and go.” Adams said. “Owen's proven that he can play with anyone. He can play either side. But I just think having a stabilizing partner for him is important. I been working on this for a while, so I'm just excited to see how it looks when they hit the ice."
The Sabres are relying on Kesselring to provide Power with a physical, defensively sound counterpart to make the club’s second pairing more dependable. That will be a necessity for Buffalo to challenge for a playoff spot.
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