Ducks' Fowler on acquisition of Kesler: 'He's really looking forward to a fresh start'

When the Anaheim Ducks acquired center Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks, they were immediately seen as a much stronger team down the middle.

Defenseman Cam Fowler played against Kesler his whole career as Pacific Division rivals and now they'll be working together. The 22-year-old defenseman lives a town away from Kesler in the offseason and the two have been skating with each other this summer.

"I've gotten to know him pretty well," Fowler told NHL.com. "I started to get to know him heading into the Olympics and then I got to know him pretty well there."

Fowler is looking forward to not having to defend against Kesler this upcoming season.

"He’s a good guy and he’s going to be a great teammate," Fowler said. "He competes like crazy."

Kesler went through his fair share of injury trouble in Vancouver and, as he told Fowler, he's made it clear this is the opportunity he's been waiting for.

"Talking to him, he’s really looking forward to a fresh start in Anaheim. It’s going to be great," Fowler said of Kesler. "There are a lot of high expectations on us, not only from ourselves but around the league. All of us relish that, and we take that on full bore."