When the San Jose Sharks traded for and extended Michael Kesselring, they knew they were adding a valuable piece to the blue line.
The fit made sense on the ice for the defenseman, but also for his d-partner. Since training camp began, the Sharks have paired Kesselring with Darnell Nurse. The Edmonton Oilers drafted both players, and although Kesselring never played a game in EDM, he skated with Nurse during some training camps.
SHD spoke exclusively to Kesselring on Saturday about the history he’s shared with his new partner.
“He’s just a great guy. He says hi to everybody, all the rookies, all the younger guys, all the AHL guys,” Kesselring said. “He was a big leader in that locker room, obviously. I kind of knew of him, and he introduced himself.”
Nurse also remembers his time with Kesselring in Edmonton.
“He’s been a lot of fun to practice with, and I’ve known Kes since he was young, just trying to break into the league,” Nurse said on Sept. 24. “His length, speed, [and] ability to cover the ice. He plays the game hard. He’s not easy to play against. So for me, you play the partner like that, it’s a lot of fun. And it’ll be a lot of fun to feed off of each and every shift, talk, communicate, and enjoy the game playing together.”
Kesselring watched Nurse while in Edmonton, and his biggest takeaway was how hard Nurse worked. The Sharks defenseman viewed Nurse as a comparable player: a top-four defenseman who could skate and move the puck.
“I just remember me being a sixth-rounder, and I heard about how hard he worked. [He is] a similar player to me. Like a top-4 [d-man]. I want to be a top-4 d-man, [who can] play hard [and] be good both ways,” Kesselring said. “So I always watched a lot of Edmonton games, and he was a guy I liked to watch. I kept up with him that way, and it is good to play with him now.”
In their first official San Jose Sharks game, Nurse and Kesselring delivered positive results, especially at even strength. Per Natural Stat Trick, the duo played 12:50 at even strength against the Florida Panthers. While on the ice, the Sharks outchanced their opponents 7-4, including two high-danger chances for and none against.
Hockey Stat Cards on Twitter provided additional analytics on the rest of the team, showing that Nurse and Kesselring were the only two Sharks defensemen with a positive game score.
“I think every game we’ve built off each other a little bit. I thought the other night was a pretty solid game from us,” Kesselring said. “In preseason, it’s tough. Like, we didn’t play; we’re practicing. The Anaheim game wasn’t a great game. Then Vegas was a real game. I felt by the third [period] we were playing pretty well. And the other night I thought we were pretty solid. Just keep building on that.”
The two will be paired again as the San Jose Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.