A motivated Cam Fowler and Ryan Kesler represent Ducks at NHL All-Star weekend

They were two sets of hips passing in the night.

Ryan Kesler and Cam Fowler don’t remember much about playing against each other six years ago, but what they do recall involve said hips: Kesler using his to bump defenders out of position, and Fowler churning his as one of the game’s smoothest skaters.

It was 2011. Fowler was a baby-faced 18-year-old who made the jump from juniors to the NHL, while Kesler propelled the Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final.

Six years later, their journeys are intertwined — if not joined at the hip — as Ducks representatives in Sunday’s All-Star game at Staples Center. Fowler, 25, was motivated from the summer and his exceptional season led to his first All-Star selection. Kesler has hip-checked age perceptions at 32 and became an All-Star six years after his last appearance.

“To have Ryan there, and there’s nobody more deserving than him, it’s going to be a fun weekend,” Fowler said.

Fowler will take the same Staples Center floor in which he fell to 12th in the 2010 NHL draft. Anaheim’s brass was giddy, and it was clear to Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle and General Manager Bob Murray at the 10-game mark that Fowler belonged in the NHL full time.

That’s saying a lot because Carlyle and Murray typically don’t play rookies. But “it was quite noticeable for us because of his skating ability,” Carlyle said.

Fowler was up for the challenge, even when a hit from the Arizona Coyotes’ Shane Doan broke his nose that first month. A few days later Fowler greeted his father, Perry, with a huge smile and a bandaged face because he was living the dream in the NHL.

Other obstacles over the years include a concussion and two knee injuries. Fowler surfaced in trade speculation last season and subsequently trained with former NHL player Pat Peake over the summer.

He’s armed with a harder shot and a greater perspective.

“It didn’t really hit me until a couple of years in that I could make a career out of this thing,” Fowler said. “You’re kind of just young and naive when you first come into the league. But it took a little while for me to gain the confidence that I could be a top-pairing defenseman in the NHL, for sure.”

Some of that confidence was earned against Kesler, whose resurgence stems from shoulder and foot injuries following the 2012-13 season. Kesler changed his summer training and learned to manage his body, which has logged 946 total games.

Former Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said Kesler’s fitness is a major part of his ability to absorb the grind.

“You see how he takes care of his body,” Boudreau said. “I think he’s going to keep going till 35 and keep going after that.”

Kesler is a Selke Trophy candidate again as best defensive forward, but it’s also his 18 goals and team-leading 39 points that earned him an All-Star invitation. It arrives after Kesler signed a six-year, $41.2-million contract extension in 2015 that was scrutinized because of his age. Kesler files away that doubt and pulls it out as the calendar turns.

“It’s what gets me up and gets me going in the morning,” he said. “There’s always going to be people that don’t believe in you. I have a strong support system at home and, to be honest, I love hearing stuff like that because it motivates me and drives me to be my best every day.”

Kesler planned to have his 6-year-old son, Ryker, with him during the weekend.

“He’s real excited, as am I,” Kesler said. “It’s great to be named in your 30s, where people think you’re over the hill and you prove people wrong.”

sports@latimes.com