While the Utah hockey club achieves a impact already In their first season in the NHL, it seems they can’t stop making headlines. Whether it’s their impressive debut, healing from their numerous injuries, or one of their young players opening the year with a bad scoring streak, Utah is having an impressive inaugural season and it’s not only a few weeks.

During a recent game against the Colorado Avalanche, Utah defenseman Michael Kesselring made headlines for the franchise. The game was bad for Utah, who lost the game by a score of 5-1.

But that’s not what gets the attention. No, it was a rather inconsequential slap shot taken by Kesselring in the first period of the game. After taking a pass from Captain Clayton Kellerthe 24-year-old defender fired a slap shot off the post. According to NHL EDGE statistics, this shot reached a whopping speed of 103.77 miles per hour (MPH).

Not only was it the first shot to eclipse the 100 MPH mark, but Kesselring’s slapper is the hardest shot recorded in recent NHL memory. NHL EDGE debuted last season, and this shot sets the new benchmark for the fastest shot recorded by its statistics.

Kesselring is in his second full season with the Utah Hockey Club/Arizona Coyotes organization. Originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, he was part of the trade deal that brought Nick Bjugstad to Edmonton at the trade deadline.

Last year, Kesselring had a breakout campaign. He played 65 games with the Coyotes and was solid in the lineup. He scored five goals, added 16 assists and finished with 21 points despite averaging less than 16 minutes of ice time per night. This year, he has two goals and two assists in his first eight games, and he plays nearly 20 minutes per night.

With a rocket shot and Utah is missing critical defenders like John Marino and Sean Durzi, Kesselring is going to be important for the next few months. If he can continue to build on his play from last season and this year’s strong start, he is sure to have a career year.

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