Josh Doan spent his childhood watching his dad, Shane, navigate an illustrious career as captain of the Arizona Coyotes. He’s played 62 NHL games of his own, having been drafted by Arizona during the second round in 2021.
Yet for all that exposure to big-league rinks, Doan recalls his “Welcome to the NHL” moment as having occurred during a summer skate in Arizona four years ago.
That was when he first shared the ice with Tage Thompson.
Thompson, an Arizona native, first got to know both Doan and Michael Kesselring during offseason skates and grew closer to the pair this past May, when all three players were part of Team USA’s gold-medal run at the IIHF World Championship.
The trio was reunited early Thursday morning, when the Sabres acquired Doan and Kesselring from Utah in exchange for forward JJ Peterka. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams cited both players’ competitiveness as key attributes, a sentiment Thompson echoed in a conversation with Sabres.com.
“I can tell you that both of them are extremely hard-working guys,” Thompson said. “Both really good character guys, guys that everyone in the locker room wants to be around and hang out with. I think they’re going to fit in with our group really nicely.”
Kesselring, 25, is a 6-foot-5, defenseman who – as a right shot – fills a need on a Sabres defense corps that boasts a wealth of left shots in Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and pending restricted free agent Bowen Byram. Kesselring brings both speed and physicality, having amassed 29 points and five fights in 82 games last season.
“He can play up and down the D corps with any of those guys,” Thompson said. “I think obviously the big, right-handed defenseman is something that’s pretty hard to come by, and he plays a very physical, edgy game. But he’s also got some speed and some skill to him, so he can get up in the play and make plays as well. I think he’ll be a solid addition to the already high-end talent we have on the back end there.”
Kesselring also had the hardest shot taken in the NHL at one point this season, clocked at 103.77 mph – until Thompson stole the record with a 106-mph shot.
“I gotta give it to Tage right now, but I was joking with him at Worlds,” Kesselring said. “I said, ‘You couldn't have let me have the record for a little bit longer?’ I had it for like a day, and then Tage broke it. But it's really fun, and I think we got a little chemistry going at Worlds, too, so hopefully we can carry that over to the year.”
Doan, 23, was an AHL All-Star last season but also got his biggest taste of NHL action. In 51 games with Utah, he earned a reputation as a strong forechecker and posted positive 57.0 shot-attempts percentage at 5-on-5.
“He’ll do whatever it takes to win and whatever the team needs of him,” Thompson said. “I think it’s a game that everyone in the lineup respects. A full 200-foot game. Plays edgy and hard, finishes checks, blocks shots. Does all the little things that help you win a hockey game. And obviously he’s still pretty early into his NHL career, so he’s only going to continue to get better and more confident.
“Obviously I’m biased because I train with him in the summer, but he does have skill and can score. It’s just not what his role’s been at the NHL level so far. But he’s one of those guys that will go to war for you and do anything to help the team win. That’s what we need. I think both those guys bring that edgy playoff hockey to the regular season, which is going to help us make the playoffs.”
