Most hated Anaheim Ducks players around the league – Part Two, RK17

The Anaheim Ducks have more than their share of despised players on the roster. This is second in a three-part series, listing “The O.C.’s Most Wanted.” In today’s hot seat is Ryan Kesler.

Every team has a few players on their roster opposing fans just can’t stand. If you are a Ducks fan, what kind of emotions do the names Dustin Brown, Joe Thornton, or Connor McDavid stir up? The Anaheim Ducks are no different. If anything, Anaheim has more hated players on their team than anyone else.

When I started this project, I knew Ryan Kesler was disliked, but after doing some research he might be slightly less popular around the NHL than Mephistopheles. The level of hate for the Anaheim Ducks center is astounding.

In the last article, we covered numbers three, four, and five on the list. Kesler isn’t ranked second. Due to the sheer amount of venom he’s drawn, Kesler comes it a number 1B.

The Instigator

Go to Google and type in “hate Kesler,” there are pages of results.

Let’s face it, RK17 is a master of getting under other player’s skin. If there were an NHL award, like the Hart Trophy, for pissing opponents off, Kesler would be shoe-in every year. There are plenty of examples, for now, Ryan Johansen is in the crosshairs.

Maybe you remember this epic comment from the Nashville pivot after Game 2 of the 2017 Western Conference Final:

“He just blows my mind, I don’t know what’s going through his head out there. His family and friends watching him play, I don’t know how you cheer for a guy like that. It just doesn’t make sense how he plays the game. I’m just trying to go out there and play hockey, and it sucks when you have to pull a stick out of your groin after every shift.”

I laugh when I read that too. What is Kesler’s main job? Keep the other team’s best center from scoring. On that night RK17 did his job by frustrating Johansen so much it took the younger player out of his game. Mission accomplished.

For his part, Kesler is obviously used to the criticism, judging by his public response, and he may have taught the kid a lesson in the process:

“Doesn’t matter. He’s not my friend, he’s not going to be my friend, so he can say whatever he wants. Obviously, I know he doesn’t like it now and I’m not gonna let up just because he said something.”

In case you were wondering, the next day, Kesler told Helene Elliott of the L.A. Times his family still roots for him. “I laughed. Got a lot of text messages from my friends and family saying they still cheered me on”

Diving

There is plenty of heat on Kesler for diving. Back to Google. Search under “Kesler Diving.” What you get is a bunch of results from 2012. Your honor, we agree that six years ago the defendant had a diving problem. That was a long time ago and the NHL has cracked down on embellishment. Unfortunately, the perception hasn’t changed. Kesler’s reputation still precedes him.

We asked some of our FanSided cousins about why their fans don’t like Ryan Kesler. This was the response from Mile High Sticking, our Colorado Avalanche affiliate:

“Avs fans don’t like him because he’s an instigator and a diver. He gets under people’s skin but usually refuses to back it up with his actions. What’s more, he dives. Generally speaking, we see no honor in that — Avs players don’t really dive. Maybe they should, to draw more penalties, but they don’t. So, when we see a player like Kesler NOT powering through a hit but actually diving like he’s been shot, we look down on him.”

People are entitled to their own thoughts and opinions and as you can see Kesler isn’t thought of highly.