They were two sets of hips passing in the night.
Ryan Kesler and Cam Fowler don’t remember much about playing against each other six years ago, but what they do recall involve said hips: Kesler using his to bump defenders out of position, and Fowler churning his as one of the game’s smoothest skaters.
It was 2011. Fowler was a baby-faced 18-year-old who made the jump from juniors to the NHL, while Kesler propelled the Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final.
Six years later, their journeys are intertwined — if not joined at the hip — as Ducks representatives in Sunday’s All-Star game at Staples Center.