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Photo of Michael Kesselring

Michael Kesselring

#7 · Defence · San Jose Sharks

Born Jan 13, 2000 in Florence, South Carolina, USA (age 26) · 6'5", 215 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 164th overall in 2018 by EDM (round 6)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2025-26. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Philippe Myers TOR · 2 P in 39 GP Travis Hamonic DET · 2 P in 26 GP Colin Miller WPG · 2 P in 18 GP Dennis Cholowski NJD · 2 P in 17 GP Jake Bean CGY · 2 P in 16 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

010202022-23: 3 points322-232023-24: 21 points2123-242024-25: 29 points2924-252025-26: 2 points225-262026-27: 0 points026-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2022-23 ARI 9 0 3 3 -1 6 8 12 0.33 $925K
2023-24 ARI 65 5 16 21 11 66 76 106 0.32 $925K
2024-25 UTA 82 7 22 29 4 89 150 87 0.35 $1.4M
2025-26 BUF 34 0 2 2 0 50 46 25 0.06 $1.4M
2026-27 SJS 5 0 0 0 -3 2 5 4 0.00 $4.5M
5 seasons Career 195 12 43 55 11 213 285 234 0.28

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2025-26 BUF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1 season Playoffs 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

2025-26 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
34 0 2 2 0 50 46 25 0.06 0.0 13:24

Contract

$1.4MCap hitends in 2026, then extended to 2029
$700KCap dollars per point2 points in 34 games
$2.214MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.6 goals above replacement
$1.3MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$89KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 715 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Utah Hockey Club on Jun 28, 2024, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $2.8M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2025-26, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: a new contract with the San Jose Sharks on Jun 28, 2026, 3 years and $13.5M at $4.5M a season, beginning in 2026-27.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2024-25 $1.4M $1.4M $0 $1.4M
2025-26 $1.4M $1.4M $0 $1.4M

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jun 28, 2026 San Jose Sharks New contract not begun 2026-27 to 2028-29 3 $13.5M $4.5M
Jun 28, 2024 Utah Hockey Club Extension 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $2.8M $1.4M
Mar 22, 2021 Edmonton Oilers Entry-level 2021-22 to 2023-24 3 $2.775M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2025-26 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2025-26 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+0.6Goals above replacement485th of 715 skaters, 144th of 239 defencemen
+0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.9Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 239 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-1.1 53rd percentileEven-strength defence+1.2 74th percentilePower play0.0 82nd percentilePenalty kill+0.2 68th percentilePenalties-1.2 27th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.

-202462022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

50.0Corsi for %438 attempts for, 438 against
+1.3CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.3Expected goals for %19.3 expected for, 18.3 against
+1.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
48.6Goals for %17 for, 18 against
99.8PDO8.4% shooting + 91.4% saves
98Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 615 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Michael Kesselring · Owen Power31141:1754.352.46-2
Michael Kesselring · Bowen Byram29109:0341.046.32-8
Mattias Samuelsson · Michael Kesselring2759:2659.361.94-3
Rasmus Dahlin · Michael Kesselring2340:0158.360.33-0

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.2Expected goalsfrom 73 unblocked attempts
-2.2Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.29 expected goals per 60 minutes82nd
Shot quality 3.0% chance per attempt38th
Finishing -2.2 goals above expected13thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 240 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Game 20Expected 2.2Goals 0

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 15, 2026 vs DAL L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 15:03
Apr 8, 2026 @ NYR W 5-3 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 10:37
Mar 10, 2026 vs SJS W 6-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 15:09
Mar 8, 2026 vs TBL W 8-7 0 1 1 1 7 1 0 06:03
Mar 7, 2026 vs NSH W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 10:28
Mar 5, 2026 @ PIT W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 12:58
Mar 3, 2026 vs VGK W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 11:19
Feb 28, 2026 @ TBL W 6-2 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 08:40
Feb 27, 2026 @ FLA W 3-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 12:19
Feb 25, 2026 @ NJD W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 14:43
Feb 5, 2026 vs PIT L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 2 1 2 07:56
Feb 2, 2026 @ FLA W 5-3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 11:48
Jan 31, 2026 vs MTL L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 08:53
Jan 29, 2026 vs LAK W 4-1 0 0 0 0 12 2 0 14:29
Jan 27, 2026 @ TOR W 7-4 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 15:08
Jan 24, 2026 @ NYI W 5-0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 13:45
Jan 22, 2026 @ MTL W 4-2 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 12:04
Jan 17, 2026 vs MIN L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 1 9 0 2 10:16
Dec 31, 2025 @ DAL W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12:04
Dec 29, 2025 @ STL W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 15:33
Dec 27, 2025 vs BOS W 4-1 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 15:46
Dec 23, 2025 @ OTT W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 12:39
Dec 21, 2025 @ NJD W 3-1 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 15:41
Dec 20, 2025 vs NYI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 2 1 17:28
Dec 18, 2025 vs PHI W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14:07
Nov 15, 2025 @ DET W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 10:59
Nov 13, 2025 @ COL L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:48
Nov 12, 2025 @ UTA L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 13:34
Nov 8, 2025 @ CAR L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 17:29
Nov 6, 2025 vs STL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 15:59
Nov 4, 2025 vs UTA L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 17:25
Nov 1, 2025 vs WSH W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18:27
Oct 30, 2025 @ BOS L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 14:50
Oct 28, 2025 vs CBJ L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 17:58