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Canucks legend Kesler 'took some heat' for incredible beatdown by his kid's hockey team

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Mar 6 2025, 7:18 pm
Canucks legend Kesler 'took some heat' for incredible beatdown by his kid's hockey team
Spittin' Chiclets/YouTube

A minor hockey team coached by former Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler has taken some heat over the past week.

Kesler serves as the head coach for the Michigan-based Little Caesars 14U team, which includes his 15-year-old son Ryker.

They’re currently ranked as the top team in their age bracket throughout the United States, finishing the regular season with a 56-2-0 record. That indicates just how difficult of a team they are to go up against, though nobody would expected to see as lopsided of a result as they had in a game last week.

Facing off against Belle Tire’s 14U team, Little Caesars was able to walk away with a ridiculous 43-0 win. Making matters even worse, the game was just 48 minutes long, with each period being 16 minutes in length.

Despite taking some heat, Kesler wasn’t at the game but gave his thoughts on the shocking result in a recent appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast.

“Took a lot of heat for that one, and I wasn’t even in the state,” the Canucks legend said. “I watched that one at Joey’s on my phone. Saw that beating. It’s too bad. That’s not a game we set up, it’s actually a playoff game. We have eight teams in our league, and unfortunately USA Hockey and playoffs make you play all 48 minutes. There’s no run time, no mercy rule.”

While a result like that has to be pretty demoralizing, Kesler gave major props to the effort level Belle Tire showed from start to finish.

“To be honest, watching that game, none of those kids on the other side gave up, which is impressive.”

The 40-year-old Kesler did have a bit of fun after complimenting the other side, however, revealing that despite what the scoresheet says, the score was actually 44-0, while the shots finished at 121-0.

Kesler is now six years removed from his final NHL game with the Anaheim Ducks. The Livonia, Michigan native played five years in Anaheim, after a 10-year run in Vancouver.

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