Ryan Kesler - Early Life

Early Life

Kesler was born on August 31, 1984, in Livonia, Michigan, to Linda and Mike Kesler. He is the youngest of three children, after brother Todd and sister Jenny. His father, Mike, played college hockey at Colorado College and was a supervisor with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association for 37 years. He introduced his children to the ice at a very young age. Ryan recalls skating at around the age of four. Mike also coaches a Junior B hockey team and runs a hockey school in Livonia, which Kesler attended as a child every summer from the age of six to seventeen. In April 2007, Mike was diagnosed with carcinoid cancer and had seven inches of his small intestine removed in order to be rid of it.

Kesler played minor hockey in Detroit for teams such as Compuware, Honeybaked, and Little Caesars of the Midwest Elite Hockey League (MWEHL). Around the age of thirteen, Kesler was cut from every AAA team he tried out for. As a result, he played for his dad's Livonia Hockey Association bantam team, which he coached. Kesler credits his brother, who is nine years older than him, for getting him into hockey. During his minor career, he established a lasting friendship with Chris Conner, who went on to be drafted by the Dallas Stars.

Despite growing up in Michigan, he was a Minnesota North Stars fan. As a young hockey player, Kesler looked up to North Stars center and fellow Livonia native Mike Modano as a role model. He has also listed Joe Sakic of the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche as a favorite player during his childhood.