Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler is among 21 unabashed athletes baring all for ESPN Magazine's annual Body Issue, and the publication has released a sneak peek of the saucy shoot.

The strategically-covered nude photos began making the rounds on Twitter Wednesday morning, where one enthusiastic fan exclaimed, "Now THIS is what I wanna see 1st thing in the morning. Hellooooo Ryan Kesler!"

Kesler's official Twitter account was mum on the photo.

The Canuck is among 10 male sports stars posing au naturel, including basketball player Blake Griffin, footballer Steven Jackson and UFC fighter Jon Jones. Kesler is the only NHL player to appear this year.

Eleven women are also appearing in the issue, a consistent best-seller for the publication, including snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, hockey player Julie Chu and surfer Steph Gilmore.

Kesler has already posed nearly naked while promoting his underwear line.

The centre underwent a successful hip surgery in July that kept him off the ice for the Canucks' entire preseason. He has said he's confident he'll be able to lace up for the team's season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins this Thursday.

The Livonia, Michigan native was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 2003, and had a career-high 41 goals in 82 games with the team last year.