I am a (formerly) casual hockey fan with many questions

For context, I am 22 years old, and started liking the Sabres when I was very little, mainly due to my cousins being huuuuuuuge fans (as they are slightly older, so actually saw the team have some success). Year after year, I'll watch maybe 10-15 games, losing interest by the trade deadline and setting my focus on baseball/basketball instead. For obvious reasons, this season has been much different, and I have watched nearly every game since at least thanksgiving.

However, hockey is the one sport I never actually played. So, I admittedly don't have the best puck knowledge. As a result, I'm curious as to what a more knowledgeable fan thinks about the following players:

Kesselring - The guy literally has 1 point on the season, but he seems like an incredibly impactful defender. Combined with the fact that when the sabres traded Peterka, I feel like Kesselring was the headliner of the package from what I saw, rather than Doan. I'm curious what other people think of Kesselring, he seems like a great defenseman despite not racking up (any) stats.

Byram - I feel like I remember the Avalanche taking him suuuuuuper high not that long ago. Seems like a pretty good player to me. Was he a bust? I feel like he's somewhat overlooked on our roster (at least, I never really hear anyone talking about him) but seems like a great player to me? Idk

Power - Genuinely never see anyone saying anything good about him, and can't really act like I know much about different schemes/strategies in hockey, but I feel like when OP is on the ice the other team can't score. Humungous, slow, but pretty exciting to watch IMO. Feels like a classic NBA defensive big man, like a Gobert or Clingan. Might not have much of an offensive impact, but team is undeniably better with him playing. Is this accurate? Am i missing something?

Doan/Mcleod/Norris - All 3 are dogs. Was Doan expected to be this good? Like I previously mentioned, I feel like I remember Kesselring being the headliner return for us, and still see people commenting on IG posts about Peterka being a steal for Utah. But Doan impresses me literally every time I watch the Sabres. Same with Mcleod, who is like +25 on the season. Why do I not see people talking about these 3 guys, outside of buffalo fans?

Please feel free to correct me in the replies, I'm really just trying to learn my about the public opinion around our team. Don't really talk to anyone about hockey, just enjoy watching it on my own since none of my friends are really in to it.