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Kesler thought there would be 'more of a buzz' in World Cup atmosphere

Andre Ringuette / World Cup of Hockey / Getty

Ryan Kesler's World Cup of Hockey experience didn't exactly go to plan.

For that matter, the entire USA roster could say the same thing, after being embarrassingly ousted from the competition in a winless three games.

Kesler, a two-time Olympian, rightly admits he and his teammates failed to perform to standards, but the 31-year-old had trouble finding extra motivation from the re-born tournament.

"It was weird," Kesler told Eric Stephens of the OC Register upon arriving at Anaheim Ducks camp. "I thought there would be more of a buzz in Toronto. There wasn't ... It just didn't seem like there was a buzz. If you didn't know what was going on, you wouldn't even know teams were playing. That's the only thing I was really disappointed with."

A lack of enthusiasm has widely been a knock on the World Cup thus far, but perhaps playing in a meaningful game could have aided Kesler's disappointment in the surrounding atmosphere.

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