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Former Oilers prospect Michael Kesselring traded to Sharks
Michael Kesselring
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jun 17, 2026, 20:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 17, 2026, 20:31 EDT
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The 2026 off-season has officially kicked off.
Following the Carolina Hurricanes hoisting the Stanley Cup on Sunday, there have been a handful of trades as the NHL draft and free agency inch closer. One of those trades included a former Oilers prospect, as the Buffalo Sabres sent Michael Kesselring and the 27th overall pick to the San Jose Sharks for the 20th overall pick.
The Oilers drafted Kesselring 164th overall in the 2018 draft, but he never played a game for the team. Instead, the Oilers traded the 6-foot-5, right-shot defenceman and a 2023 third-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Bjugstad and defenceman Cam Dineen.
Kesselring played nine games with the Coyotes that season, but became a regular the following season. Over 65 games, the Florence, South Carolina native scored five goals and 21 points. He stuck with the team when they moved to Salt Lake City, scoring seven goals and 29 points in 82 games with the Utah Mammoth.
Last off-season, Kesselring and Josh Doan went to the Sabres in exchange for J.J. Peterka, a trade that has worked out well for both teams. For the Sabres, that’s more so because Doan emerged as a top-six forward, as Kesselring picked up just two assists over his 34 games. A lot of the games missed were due to injury, but he didn’t fit in well with what became a deep defence core.
Funnily enough, the 20th overall pick the Sabres acquired originally belonged to the Oilers. Before the 2025 trade deadline, the Oilers sent the pick and prospect Carl Berglund to the Sharks for Jake Walman.
The big question is will this take the Sharks out of the running for Darnell Nurse? Given Kesselring is a right-shot defenceman, probably not. The Sharks still have a need for capable veteran defencemen and need to get to the cap floor, so it figures that they can be a team to monitor this off-season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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