Like all others participating in September's World Cup of Hockey, Ryan Getzlaf's offseason is getting cut a little bit short, but the Anaheim Ducks captain is up to the task.
"We're going into a playoff-type atmosphere, so we've got to be ready to go," Getzlaf said, according to Abbey Mastracco of NHL.com. "We're going to have to ramp it up."
Getzlaf is representing Team Canada, who will face the pressure of delivering on home soil, but wearing the maple leaf is nothing new for the 31-year-old, having won two Olympic golds and one World Junior Championship.
Getzlaf says preparing for the tournament requires an accelerated workout plan, but he feels he's trained well enough thus far.
"I tried to simulate what I would do for camp and I've been back working out," Getzlaf said. "I think that the amount of skating and stuff I've been doing is a lot more and it's a lot earlier. These next two weeks are going to be about trying to get up to that speed where we're playing at a high level."
Getzlaf and Team Canada begin their quest for hockey supremacy Sept. 17 versus Czech Republic.
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