‘Wear it as a badge of honor’ | Doan, Kesselring thrilled with new opportunity

Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan have acclimated to life in the NHL as teammates, roommates and the closest of friends. Now, they’ll take that bond eastward to Buffalo.

The Buffalo Sabres acquired the talented young duo – Kesselring the physical, hard-shooting defenseman, Doan the skilled, forechecking winger – from the Utah Mammoth on Thursday in exchange for JJ Peterka.

“Kess and I are really close,” Doan said. “We’ve lived together for two years, now, so we’ve got to know each other, and he’s someone that I’ll always lean on when things happen. So, to go into this together is something really cool. As a duo, we’re excited to come to Buffalo and help the team out.”

The newest Sabres addressed the media Thursday, just hours after the trade, to summarize their games and express their enthusiasm to be joining a new team together.

Kesselring, at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, brings a well-rounded profile to Buffalo’s blue line. In his breakout 2024-25 campaign with Utah, he played all 82 games and was just as involved offensively (seven goals, 22 assists) as he was physically (87 hits, five fights). He thrived on pairs with offensively minded partners like Mikhail Sergachev and defense-first ones like Ian Cole; his success with the former has him eager to skate with the likes of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.

“It’s really exciting, because I think I have the skill to help get them the puck,” Kesselring said. “Obviously (my) shot’s probably one of my best attributes, so if they can set me up for good looks, I can hopefully bury. But I can skate with them, and I think I move the puck pretty well, but also bring that defensive side, be reliable for one of those two guys hopefully, and kind of give them a ‘Steady Eddie’ partner who defensively plays hard, boxes out and can get them the puck and let them play their game.”

• Film review: Kesselring's 2024-25 success

The right-shot defenseman, drafted in the sixth round by Edmonton in 2018 before playing at Northeastern University, attributes his continued development, in part, to the physical side of his game.

“It’s a big part of my game the last few years and why I’ve become a better player, I think,” he said. “I think, defensively, I’ve slowly become harder to play against since I signed pro, and that’s one thing I really want to take pride in this year.”

Doan, meanwhile, is lauded for his forechecking effort and ability, which made him a highly impactful piece for Utah this past season. His comfort around and behind the net – similar to Zach Benson – helped generate plenty of offense.

“That's something that I want to bring to the table: be a nuisance on the ice and go to the dirty areas, go to the hard areas,” Doan said. “It's the most fun way to play hockey: being a little bit of a pest on the ice and finding yourself around the front of the net.”

The former second-round pick and Arizona State Sun Devil has totaled 28 points (12+16) in 62 career NHL games, but he expects a significant uptick in scoring production going forward.

“I do think I can score at the next level, and I know I can,” Doan said. “… It’s something this offseason that me and my group talked about, is working on scoring goals and capitalizing on the opportunities that I had last year. So, there’s a huge focal point on producing.”

Both acquisitions, with their different skillsets yet similarly upbeat attitudes, are thrilled for the opportunity to help the Sabres become a consistent winner.

“As a duo, we have to wear it as a badge of honor that they wanted to bring us in to help this group win,” Doan said. “It's one of those things where we're not going to come in and be saviors, but we can come in and help the team where we can and help the team grow in the direction that it's trying to go.”

Added Kesselring: “As a hockey player, you want those eyes on you, you want to be the difference maker, you want to be the guy that helps the team get over the hump. Am I gonna do it in a little bit of a different way than Dahlin and Thompson? For sure. But I think I can be a valuable asset to a winning team.

“… I know a lot of guys in that room, and I think there's a lot of talent here. And there's no reason we can't turn it around pretty quick.”

Here are some more notes from Kesselring and Doan’s introductory pressers.

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.

• Read: Thompson looks forward to reunion with Doan, Kesselring

“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.”

4. The pair will be bringing three additional roommates to Buffalo: Kesselring’s cats, Socks and Ranger, and Doan’s dog Hank. They typically occupy separate floors of their residence to avoid conflict, but Doan said the pets all get along pretty well.

“The three of them have kind of got to know each other a little bit, and I’m sure it’ll make it feel more like home having all three of them together again,” Doan said.