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Michael Kesselring

Arizona Coyotes Recall Michael Kesselring

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The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. The Coyotes finish their season with a game against the Vancouver Canucks tonight, so Kesselring will have the chance to tack on one last NHL appearance before likely heading back to play for the Roadrunners tomorrow against the San Jose Barracuda.

Kesselring, 23, last played in the NHL in a March 26th loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He registered an assist and just under 16 minutes of ice time in that game, and overall this year has just that one point in eight NHL games. Kesselring has spent most of this season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, having been acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in the Nick Bjugstad trade.

The Coyotes were likely intrigued by the upside Kesselring might have, as he’s an ever-valuable right-shot defenseman and stands six-foot-four, 190 pounds. Offensively, Kesselring’s had an interesting season as he’s scored 14 goals and 14 assists in 59 games.

It’s not often that you see defensemen scoring the same amount of goals and assists, though it’s worth noting that before this year Kesselring had only scored single-digit goals in each prior season of his prospect career.

The Roadrunners have clinched their playoff spot, so it’s likely that Kesselring heads back there after tonight’s game. Kesselring plays a top-pairing role in Tucson, meaning if the Roadrunners go on any sort of run in the Calder Cup playoffs, it’s likely that he’ll be a major reason why.

Coyotes Notes: Ritchie, Imama, Injuries

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PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reported Monday afternoon that Arizona Coyotes forward Brett Ritchie’s status for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers is uncertain for a second straight night due to illness. He will be a game-time decision after missing yesterday’s shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Ritchie has scored two goals and added two assists in eight games since being acquired in a swap with the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline. The 29-year-old winger is having his best offensive season since he recorded seven goals and 14 points in 71 games with the Dallas Stars in 2017-18.

More from the Coyotes beat today:

  • With Ritchie’s availability up in the air, Bokondji Imama is back up with the Coyotes on emergency loan from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Defenseman Michael Kesselring was papered back to the Roadrunners to satisfy the emergency loan requirements. With Josh Brown ready to return to the lineup, this allows the Coyotes to play 12 forwards and six defensemen tonight, no matter what. Imama is still looking for his first point of the year in five games with the Coyotes.
  • Also per Morgan, forwards Laurent Dauphin and Zack Kassian will remain out of the lineup with upper-body injuries. Kassian, who has just two goals in 51 games this season, has been absent from the lineup since March 21. Dauphin, who has no points in 16 games since being recalled from Tucson, has been out for three days.

Minor Transactions: Kesselring, Berard, Krygier, Pivonka

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced via a press release that they have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from their AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners. Since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade, Kesselring has now been recalled on an emergency loan for the fourth time in just under three weeks.

After having a productive season with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors, Kesselring has played three games for the Roadrunners, scoring two points, and four games for the Coyotes, scoring zero points. Given the seemingly unending rotating door that Kesselring has found himself in, this will likely not be the last time he will find himself being emergency recalled this year.

Other notes:

  • The New York Rangers have signed prospect Brett Berard to an entry-level contract that will kick in next year. In the meantime, the Providence College product will join the team’s AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout basis. The contract will run until the end of the 2025-26 season, paying the forward $925K in the NHL, and $80K in the AHL. Drafted 134th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Berard capped off a solid career at Providence, playing in a total of 91 regular season games, scoring 33 goals and 39 assists.
  • Jacob Pivonka will be joining the Bridgeport Islanders on an ATO today. Drafted 104th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, the young forward played a majority of his collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, but ultimately finished it at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In his four-year college career, Pivonka played in 126 regular-season games, scoring 17 goals and 29 assists.
  • Also joining Pivonka in Bridgeport on an ATO will be defenseman Christian Krygier from Michigan State University. This will be the second transaction in as many days for the Krygier family, as his brother, Cole Krygier, just had his rights acquired by the Los Angeles Kings. Christian managed to accrue five seasons in the NCAA after being given another season of eligibility due to the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to score 20 points for the Spartans.

West Notes: Wild, McLeod, Afanaseyev, Kesselring

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The Wild could get several key veterans back in their lineup shortly.  Randy Johnson of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays that while defensemen Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton plus wingers Brandon Duhaime and Marcus Foligno weren’t in the lineup today, they could all be back for Sunday’s contest against Washington.  Brodin has been out the longest, missing the last four weeks with a lower-body injury which has been a big blow to their back end.  Middleton is dealing with an illness sustained earlier this week.  Meanwhile, Duhaime has missed more than two weeks with a head injury while Foligno has been out for a week with a lower-body issue of his own.  Minnesota is in the midst of a very close three-way battle for positioning in the Central and getting multiple veterans back at once could certainly give their lineup a nice boost.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Postmedia’s Jim Matheson suggests that center Ryan McLeod is dealing with a shoulder injury. He was injured on Tuesday against Ottawa and didn’t suit up versus Dallas on Thursday.  There’s no word on how long the 23-year-old will be out.  McLeod’s in the middle of a decent sophomore season, notching 11 goals and 11 assists in 55 games despite spending a lot of that time in Edmonton’s bottom six.
  • After papering him down, the Predators announced that they’ve recalled winger Egor Afanasyev to AHL Milwaukee. The 22-year-old made his NHL debut last weekend after being brought up and has gotten into three games with Nashville, logging 9:32 per night while being held off the scoresheet.  Afanasyev also has 13 goals and 13 assists in 55 games with the Admirals in the minors this season.
  • A day after being sent down, the Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that they have once again recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from AHL Tucson on an emergency basis. The 23-year-old has played in three games with Arizona since being acquired just before the deadline, logging 18:35 per contest.  The 23-year-old has also suited up three times for the Roadrunners since the swap, picking up a goal and an assist.

Snapshots: Crosby, Islanders, Coyotes

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Pittsburgh Penguins franchise center Sidney Crosby has moved into sole possession of second place on an impressive list — the number of point-per-game seasons in an NHL career. By reaching 82 points on the year last night, he clinched his 18th straight point-per-game season, moving past Gordie Howe, who had 17. With a point-per-game season next year, he’ll tie Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record with 19.

Those scoring pace statistics are the best way to quantify Crosby’s greatness, given the sheer amount of games he missed due to injury in the early 2010s. While those injuries may limit his place on the main all-time statistics lists, his scoring consistency and ability to adapt his game as the team changes around him should never be overlooked. Crosby’s 83 points in 68 games this season lead the Penguins.

Also from around the league today:

  • The New York Islanders announced that forwards Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey are both currently sick with non-COVID illnesses, potentially impacting their availability for tomorrow’s game against San Jose. New York still has the inside track on a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference but still can’t afford to lose many games down the stretch. Health will be a key factor to watch for them, as Cizikas and Bailey are both key veteran presences with experience in important games.
  • The Arizona Coyotes assigned forward Bokondji Imama and defenseman Michael Kesselring back to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners today, according to the team. Both have been shuttled up and down frequently since the trade deadline. Expect both players to be recalled back to Arizona tomorrow, as Nick Schmaltz and Josh Brown aren’t expected to be ready for their game against Chicago and remain out with injuries.

 

Arizona Coyotes Recall Bokondji Imama, Michael Kesselring From AHL

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March 14th, 4:01 PM CDT: In response to the news of Kesselring being recalled on an emergency basis, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that defenseman Patrik Nemeth left the Coyotes practice this morning with an apparent injury. It is not yet known the nature or extent of the injury that Nemeth sustained this morning, but we do know that he will not be playing in the team’s game tonight.

March 14th, 3:16 PM CDT: The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Bokondji Imama and defenseman Michael Kesselring on emergency loans from their AHL affiliate Tuscon Roadrunners. Both players will be made available to dress for tonight’s matchup against the Calgary Flames.

For the second time in as many days, Imama will again be on the roster for the Coyotes. Now playing in his second year in the Coyotes organization, Imama has spent most of his time in Tuscon. In 95 games played over those two seasons, Imama has 10 goals, 14 assists, and a whopping 274 PIM. He has scarcely played in the NHL, having only seen six games in Arizona, averaging just over five minutes of ice time a night.

As the Coyotes continue to assess which players will be around for the future of Arizona hockey, Imama provides the Coyotes with the ability to add quite a bit of grit into their lineup, if they choose to do so.

In his third full season of professional hockey, Kesselring arrived in Arizona during the trade deadline, being one of the pieces sent from the Oilers in the trade for Nick Bjugstad. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL draft, Kesselring developed a knack for scoring goals at the AHL level during his time with Edmonton. In 49 games played for their AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors this season, Kesselring racked up 13 goals, providing some offense from the back end.

Coyotes Assign Three To AHL

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The Coyotes have made a trio of roster moves following their game last night against Carolina, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defensemen Vladislav Kolyachonok and Michael Kesselring plus forward Milos Kelemen to AHL Tucson.

Kolyachonok is the most experienced of the three at the NHL level, making 34 career appearances with the Coyotes although only two of those have come this season.  The 21-year-old has spent most of the year with the Roadrunners, picking up 14 points and 52 penalty minutes in 54 games.  He has one year left on this one on his entry-level deal.

As for Kesselring, he’s new to the organization after coming over from Edmonton as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade earlier this week.  He made his NHL debut last night after spending the full season in the minors with AHL Bakersfield prior to the swap.  After picking up 13 points in his rookie pro campaign, the 23-year-old had 13 goals and nine assists with the Condors in 49 games this season.  He also has one season left on his entry-level pact.

Kelemen, meanwhile, is in his first season in North America after signing a two-year, entry-level deal with the Coyotes back in May.  He played his second NHL contest last night and has also been with the Roadrunners for most of the season, tallying 13 goals and 13 assists in 52 games.

While Arizona added Brett Ritchie and Connor Mackey at the deadline yesterday, neither player was available to suit up against the Hurricanes which resulted in Kesselring and Kelemen being brought up yesterday to fill out their roster.  The newcomers should be available to suit up on Sunday against New Jersey.

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