Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Blueliner Kesselring Has Great Opportunity To Prove Himself In First Year As A Sabre

The NHL’s 2025-26 season is nearly here, and here at THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re making our way through a player-by-player series that breaks down the expectations for every Sabres player this coming season. 

Each Sabres has a singular goal of getting Buffalo into the Stanley Cup playoffs, but as individuals, every Sabres player has their own distinct expectations. 

That said, we’ve been through Buffalo’s goaltenders and their top defensemen. And in this file, we’re turning the spotlight on a blueliner the Sabres acquired this summer in the trade that sent winger J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth – defenseman Michael Kesselring.

Player Name: Michael Kesselring

Position: Defenseman

Age: 25

2024-25 Key Statistics: 82 games, 22 assists, 29 points, 17:41 average time-on-ice

2025-26 Salary: $1.4-million

2025-26 Expectations: Given Buffalo’s depth on its back end, Kesselring isn’t coming to start his season expecting to be a top-four D-man – at least, not one right away.

Kesselring’s big body – he’s 6-foot-4 – and promise of growing his game (he’s got only one full NHL season under his belt) are what appealed to Sabres GM Kevyn Adams when he acquired Kesselring for Peterka. 

However, judging Kesselring against what Peterka will do for the Mammoth is unfair to Kesselring. He needs to be judged on his own merits, and that means giving him some patience to develop on his own timeline.

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: D-Man Byram Has New Contract, Heightened Bar To ClearThe expectations on every one of the Buffalo Sabres' players are all about getting this team into the Stanley Cup playoffs. But other than that, the expectations change from player-to-player. And to that end, THN.com's Sabres site is breaking down the expectations on each and every Buffalo player this coming season.

At some point in the season, Kesselring will almost assuredly get a long look on Buffalo’s second pairing. You can only stress-test someone in stressful situations, and given that the Sabres will need to give Kesselring a raise when he becomes an RFA at the end of next season, Buffalo management will have to see exactly the type of talent they’ve got in Kesselring.

Kesselring’s physical stature and ability to chip in with an assist here or there will endear him to Sabres coach Lindy Ruff – but from there, Kesselring has to show he’s got more in his bag of tricks than that. 

Because for the short-term, at least, he’s going to be a member of Buffalo’s top-six defenders, and Sabres management should be bringing him along slowly.

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Blueliner Power Needs To Elevate His GameThe NHL’s 2025-26 season is only a handful of weeks away, and here at THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’ve started a player-by-player series that analyzes each Sabre this past season and their probable contributions next year. 

There’s still some ceiling to Kesselring’s game, but the Sabres need him to produce more than what he’s shown thus far. He’s not going to be an all-star at the NHL level, but Buffalo brass saw something in him, and now he needs to reward their interest in him by thriving as a Sabre.

The Mammoth clearly were prepared to part ways with Kesselring, but he’s got a clean slate – and the way he responds to his new environment will dictate the opportunities (and the money) he’s going to get.