2018 Draft: 4th Pick: Michael Kesselring (D) | Signed to a 3 Year ELC on 3/22/21, Off to Bako!

[ImmuneEH]

I'm a little conflicted but ultimately I'm pretty thrilled about this. My knee-jerk reaction was "he could use another year in college", however, I know nothing about his skills and his progression. The kid's got potential and we've got Dave Manson at the helm.

Three-year ELC is fantastic. In terms of projection, if everything shakes out right, Bear & Bouchard will be in their primes by the end of Kesselring's ELC and Kesselring would likely just be making the NHL. He's a guy we can take our time with.

 

[MoontoScott]

Really looking forward to seeing him develop in Bako. IMO he is a future NHLer in the making.

Speaking of D-men, is Phil Kemp headed to the Condors as well?

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'm a little conflicted but ultimately I'm pretty thrilled about this. My knee-jerk reaction was "he could use another year in college", however, I know nothing about his skills and his progression. Three-year ELC is fantastic. The kid's got potential and we've got Dave Manson at the helm.

IMO he is going to the right place and this is likely Larsson's eventual replacement. Manson has been a Godsend to our young D prospects in Bako and now he has 3 seasons to work with Kesselring, Kemp and hopefully Broberg.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Speaking of D-men, is Phil Kemp headed to the Condors as well?

I would assume so, apparently his and Lavoie's last game of the season overseas is today I believe.

 

[CupofOil]

RELEASE: Oilers sign Kesselring to entry-level contract

Excited to see him in the Bake!

I'm surprised that they signed him already as I thought his game was pretty raw and could probably use another season in college but good to get one of these U.S. kids signed before they explore the "loophole" like Marino did.

I remember when they drafted him, there were a few posters on the main board that said the Oilers got a potential steal. Having watched him in limited action, I could see some real upside with him. A big guy who can move well and has offensive instinct is always an intriguing player. It'll be interesting to see if Woodcroft could get him in a few games.

 

[MoontoScott]

I would assume so, apparently his and Lavoie's last game of the season overseas is today I believe.

With the success Bakersfield has had so far they could be a real threat once they add these 2 guys. What started off as a dreadful looking season for the ugly birds now has some serious promise. I imagine Max is headed there later in the season too.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

I think Kesselring's game is more suited to the pro game rather than college hockey so I'm curious to see what he can do in Bako for the rest of the year and into next year.

 

[ImmuneEH]

IMO he is going to the right place and this is likely Larsson's eventual replacement. Manson has been a Godsend to our young D prospects in Bako and now he has 3 seasons to work with Kesselring, Kemp and hopefully Broberg.

I agree. I went and looked at Bear, Jones, and Lagesson's journey to the NHL and all of these players progressed very nicely (although Lagesson had a much different path overall).

Looking at Bear, Jones, and Lagesson's paths to the NHL

Bear got some NHL action in year 1 of turning pro. Spent a full year in the AHL in year 2 then made the NHL full-time in year 3.

Jones spent his first full year of pro in the AHL and got into some NHL games in year two. In year three it appears he got called up for good and played 43 NHL games.

Lagesson went from Sweden's junior league in his draft year to USHL in his draft +1, NCAA in draft +2 & 3, SHL in draft +4, a full AHL season in draft +5, a little bit of NHL action in draft +6 and appears to be a mainstay in draft +7.

Projection

It seems necessary to mention because these are all mid-round picks, just like Kesselring. Fortunately, we're at a point now where it seems like we have depth on D, so we can take our time with this prospect.

I'd expect two full seasons in the AHL, for him to get into some NHL action in the final year of his ELC, and be a full-time NHLer in his 4th year as pro.

That's a conservative estimate, given that we don't have to rush him.

 

[McMozesmadness]

Today is a big day. Might not feel big, but getting this kid signed is huge. Don’t need to worry about another Marino situation.

An argument can be made he’s our #5 prospect in the whole system. Potential is off the charts with Kesselring.

Huge frame, I don’t think he’s even near his physical potential, good skater, surprisingly good hands and offensive instincts. He’s not a punisher physically, but doesn’t shy away.

In no way am I saying he will be this good, but he reminds me of Parayko. I think that’s his ceiling. Which is very exciting. Needs a lot more development time though.

The hidden gem in our system.

 

[Nunymare]

Lowetide has consistently had good things to say about him in his past articles so he seems to be an intriguing project. Hopefully he continues to progress and we might have another late round pick pan out.

 

[nabob]

This is great news. Really glad that he’ll be in our system and not jumping as a free agent.

 

[BudBundy]

Excellent that he’s not going to be lost to the Marino scenario. He’s obviously got a projectable NHL frame and RH shot gives him an inside track. Anybody watch him enough to comment on skating? I highly doubt he’s Parayko level potential, but I’d sure settle for a Brandon Carlo type. We’ll see how he does, but he has a great chance.

I just love how our prospect pool is lining up with our distant needs. Larsson replacement on the horizon? Kesselring/Kemp check! Left wing scorer/digger! Holloway check! 3rd line C with size and speed? McLoed check! LH D depth? Samorukov/Broberg check! Now about those goalies......

 

[DropTheGloves]

I personally don't like pulling him out of school so early. It took Kesselring three years of prep play to take the next step offensively, then three years of USHL to become a threat on both sides of the puck at that level. He had a good season relative to expectations I guess, and it seems his defensive game is far along, but seeing him go back a third season to develop his offense in college would've been ideal IMO.

In fact, I can't think of another NCAA d-man to pot single digits before coming out and being a really good NHLer- especially at age 21- Lindgren I guess? Even someone like Carson Soucy broke double digits.

 

[McTonyBrar]

When we drafted him, I was very intrigued. I'm excited that we signed him

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

I personally don't like pulling him out of school so early. It took Kesselring three years of prep play to take the next step offensively, then three years of USHL to become a threat on both sides of the puck at that level. He had a good season relative to expectations I guess, and it seems his defensive game is far along, but seeing him go back a third season to develop his offense in college would've been ideal IMO.

In fact, I can't think of another NCAA d-man to pot single digits before coming out and being a really good NHLer- especially at age 21- Lindgren I guess? Even someone like Carson Soucy broke double digits.

Kesselring only had one full year in the USHL where he had 34 points split between De Moines and Fargo. 2017-18 was mostly still US Prep at New Hampton with 12 USHL games for De Moines. Also, this past year he had 8 point in 20 games in a Covid shortened season so you're not exactly comparing apples to apples. P/GP improved this year at Northeastern from 0.15 in 2019-20 to 0.40 this year. So he's been progressing and that was visible in his play this year.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Today is a big day. Might not feel big, but getting this kid signed is huge. Don’t need to worry about another Marino situation.

An argument can be made he’s our #5 prospect in the whole system. Potential is off the charts with Kesselring.

Huge frame, I don’t think he’s even near his physical potential, good skater, surprisingly good hands and offensive instincts. He’s not a punisher physically, but doesn’t shy away.

In no way am I saying he will be this good, but he reminds me of Parayko. I think that’s his ceiling. Which is very exciting. Needs a lot more development time though.

The hidden gem in our system.

I've heard plenty of favorable assessments of this player for awhile now so today's news should be viewed as an important signing with Kesselring sitting just below our top tier of prospects.

The three year contract that doesn't start until next season is the best scenario for the organization and the player.

This is an example of a player choosing the Edmonton Oiler's organization for his career development and Kesselring is a compelling asset.

Good job by Holland.

 

[Samus44]

Excellent that he’s not going to be lost to the Marino scenario. He’s obviously got a projectable NHL frame and RH shot gives him an inside track. Anybody watch him enough to comment on skating? I highly doubt he’s Parayko level potential, but I’d sure settle for a Brandon Carlo type. We’ll see how he does, but he has a great chance.

I just love how our prospect pool is lining up with our distant needs. Larsson replacement on the horizon? Kesselring/Kemp check! Left wing scorer/digger! Holloway check! 3rd line C with size and speed? McLoed check! LH D depth? Samorukov/Broberg check! Now about those goalies......

I've only seen him a few times and he was a very strong skater. He's got a complete tool set. Very similar to Marino, who I was high on, in terms of being a complete talent. It'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to pro, this is certainly ahead of schedule.

 

[Samus44]

Next years D is stacked.

Samorukov-Berglund
Broberg-Kemp
Niemelainen-Kesselring

I'm sure they'll be an AHL vet or two plus they've got some kids on AHL deals they might want to keep. That's a lot of defensive depth for next season. If Holland can get a top tier talent in a deal I see him leveraging this depth in a deal.

 

[McFlyingV]

This is great news getting him locked up so he doesn't Marino us. He's gonna need some development still but a lot of nice skills on this player.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Happy for the signing. Solid. raw toolkit with size and skating ability. Emphasis on raw.

Will be interesting to see his adjustment to pro game and competition. With only a 20 game covid season, I'm glad he is making the jump now and will get to singularly focus on hockey, receive excellent development support via the Manson Finishing School for Defensemen and pro competition. There is nice potential with Kesselring. But it will need patience and measured expectation before his upside is known. Great to see a new day where Oilers start to get traction on mid to late draft picks.

 

[Canovin]

A little off topic, but what's the story on Dave Manson? Is he a good training coach?

 

[CanmoreMike]

I am very excited about this signing. My fear was that he’d stay one more year and have such a strong season he might consider one more and test UFA.

David Staples had a write up and basically said that when he was at a prospects camp he saw Kesselring play. Had he known nothing about the player and someone told him that that was the Oilers recent first round pick - he didn’t look out of place.

 

[MoontoScott]

Next years D is stacked.

Samorukov-Berglund
Broberg-Kemp
Niemelainen-Kesselring

I'm sure they'll be an AHL vet or two plus they've got some kids on AHL deals they might want to keep. That's a lot of defensive depth for next season. If Holland can get a top tier talent in a deal I see him leveraging this depth in a deal.

They are all just prospects now but its certainly an impressive list.

Now we have to compile a similar "quality prospects" roster for the forwards playing down on the farm.

I can't see McLeod and Benson playing yet another season in Bakersfield during the 2021-22 season.