Michael Kesselring, other locals verbally commit over Labor Day weekend

Michael Kesselring (New Hampton, N.H.) has a new future home.

Over the weekend, the 2018 sixth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers verbally committed to play college hockey at Northeastern.

Prior to the NHL Draft this past summer, the former New Hampton star defenseman de-committed from Merrimack, where his father and prep coach Casey Kesselring starred from 1994-1998. The decision was largely due to Mark Dennehy’s (Dorchester, Mass.) ouster as head coach of the Warriors.

Kesselring, who will play the 2018-19 season for the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL before matriculating to Northeastern, is a rangy defenseman with offensive instincts.

“He’s a two-way defenseman who gives you a little bit of everything," Casey Kesselring told New England Hockey Journal prior to the draft. "He’s a puck-moving machine. He’s not overly physical. He can skate for a big kid. He has good instincts."

Other commits

However, Kesselring wasn’t the only player with New England ties to commit to a Division 1 program over Labor Day weekend.

Duxbury, Mass., native Jonny Hammel verbally committed to Holy Cross. The Boston Advantage forward, an ‘02, had impressed coaches from the Atlantic Hockey program at the recent Neponset Valley River Rats Jamboree.

After a strong start to the fall split season, Millbrook School defenseman Owen Nolan has also verbally committed to Army.

An ‘00 who played for the Westchester Express before joining the pre ranks, Nolan has good size, athleticism and physical tools. He was a standout at the River Rats Jamboree while playing for the Rochester Coalition 18U club, coached by former Brown defenseman Kyle Quick. He was equally impressive at this weekend’s East Coast Classics Tournament Labor Day Cup in Salem, N.H.

Army assistant coaches Zach McKelvie and Mason Graddock (Stowe, Vt.) had both watched Nolan throughout the past week.