Ryan Getzlaf twice lived Olympic glory as a player. Now he’s using that experience to help make decisions for Team Canada’s roster for the Milan Games.

Hockey Canada named Getzlaf its player relations adviser in 2024 in the lead-up to the 4 Nations Face-Off, which also led to his being involved in back-to-back men’s IIHF World Championships and now the Olympics.

The role has evolved over the course of those events. Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong originally envisioned Getzlaf being a go-between for players and management. Additionally, he has become something more like an adviser to the GM.

“It has been fluid,” Getzlaf told The Athletic last week, speaking over the phone from his home in Nashville. “I’ve been able to be a big part of the World Championship process, and I’ve sat in on every meeting and phone call and then the 4 Nations tournament, so it’s all been this building process.”

What type of perspective does he bring to the table?

“A player’s perspective,” Getzlaf said. “What it takes to be in that locker room. Some of those players have been there in the past, but it’s been a long time (for Olympic hockey). The players have changed. The mentality has changed a little bit. I’ve been able to sit in and give a point of view.”

So while NHL GMs filling out Armstrong’s staff — including Jim Nill, Julien BriseBois, Don Sweeney and Kyle Dubas — have been scouting countless NHL games since the start of the season, Getzlaf’s role is a bit more nuanced.

“GMs watch games a certain way, and they have their process that they go through, and they’re the best at what they do,” Getzlaf said. “I have a different process of going through watching guys in different situations and how they react to things. And I have relationships and talk to people and am able to bring that to the table and try to understand what that guy is going to look like sitting in that locker room — and whether he can handle the pressure, and will he fit into the group?

“I’ve been very fortunate to be in some great locker rooms and understand what it takes to sit in there when the game is on the line or you go into overtime of a gold-medal game and you look over and there’s a Scott Niedermayer, who is as calm as can be and understands what the job is.’’

That the former Anaheim Ducks captain, who retired after a 17-year career in 2022, has wanted to step into a role serving his country was a no-brainer. The native of Regina, Saskatchewan, has the Maple Leaf draped all over his playing career resume: two World Juniors championships for Canada in 2004 and 2005, two men’s IIHF World Championships in 2008 and 2012 (where he was captain), the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and, of course, Olympic gold at the 2010 and 2014 Games.

So what’s it like now, watching all those bubble guys as final decisions need to be made ahead of the Dec. 31 roster deadline, and understanding what those guys are going through?

“I remember the Vancouver Olympics, I had an injury right before,” Getzlaf recalled. “That sticks out for me, as far as how much passion and care and pride I put into being on that team. It didn’t matter what my role was going to be. I just remember the mentality going into that and how much I wanted to be part of it. And I can imagine there’s probably 10-odd guys sitting in those shoes right now, whether it’s an injury or not, really, really wanting to be part of that team, especially not having had the chance to play (in the Olympics before).

“The guys that are able to embrace that and meet the challenge are the guys that usually end up on the team. Some guys, it weighs on them and makes it hard, but that shows the passion and competitiveness in Canada and how hard it is to be on that team.”

It’s been a forever mantra with Team Canada: check your ego at the door. And as cliche as it is, it’s been a real thing that has been felt through a consistent amount of best-on-best success at the 2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics, 2016 World Cup of Hockey and most recently the 4 Nations.

If there’s a connective factor in all those events, it’s Sidney Crosby and his presence on and off the ice. Getzlaf saw it first-hand.

“Sid brings a different kind of clout,” Getzlaf said. “Obviously, he’s been dealing with (being a) front-page star since he was 12 years old. And I think he’s learned and adapted over the years on how to be part of a group, even when everyone in the group looks at you, if that makes sense. I’ve grown up with Sid in this game since the World Juniors, and we’ve done a lot of national team events together. Every time I go to him, Sid’s main thing when he’s part of these things is being part of the group. He wants to be treated like the other guys in the group, and he also wants to look out for the guys.

“Players notice that. He could easily come in and be the star that he is (and) what comes with that, but he doesn’t. He goes out of his way to not do those things, and the other guys rally around that and appreciate it. Like a Scott Niedermayer in Vancouver, Sid has that pedigree. So when you walk into a locker room and he’s in, your mentality shifts that way. You have an understanding that, whatever the situation, you have a chance — whether he’s going to do it or somebody else is. He has that clout.”

Sidney Crosby and Ryan Getzlaf celebrate a goal at the 2014 Olympics. (Clive Mason / Getty Images)

It’s a special thing that speaks to Crosby’s humility but also the confidence that all the international success breeds.

All of which feeds back into what Team Canada looks for when making those final, difficult roster decisions. They need star players to take on smaller roles and embrace it — never mind not pouting about it, but truly embracing it. Finding a way to make the talent and personalities mesh is part of what Getzlaf lived as a captain and star player, and it clearly translates to this role.

“Obviously, your top dogs are your top dogs,” Getzlaf said. “You know (they’re) going to be on the team. You’re trying to understand what other roles you need to fill.

“There’s certain things you need in the locker room, and there’s certain things that set guys apart. That’s the joy and the fun and the misery of trying to pick these teams. We have a lot of options, and we have a lot of guys that do certain things. It’s about building the team for the right situation.”

And from living the process now, Getzlaf has got a glimpse from the inside.

“I can’t tell you how much appreciation I have from what these GMs go through all the time,” he said. “I watch them go through their travel schedule, and it is outrageous. They’re seeing everybody, and they’re seeing them multiple times. They do their homework. They’re not picking anything on a whim.

“There’s a lot of thought and process that goes into all of it. Some of which I knew about, some I didn’t. And that’s what has been great about it, being able to sit in on all that and have my two cents in where it’s a different perspective that they’re not maybe used to hearing. And they’ve all embraced it.’’

Getzlaf mostly has done his work from his home base in Nashville, where his family relocated a couple of years ago, in part because of his day job with the NHL Department of Player Safety. He has to watch a lot of screens every night as part of that gig, and that also feeds into his Team Canada duties.

The NHL hired Getzlaf in August 2024, and he’s also been invited to league GM meetings, which have exposed him to a different part of the business.

“It’s been good,” Getzlaf said of his NHL gig. “I’m learning another side of the business. Being around those league meetings and being around the NHL staff has been quite eye-opening, to tell you the honest truth. When you’re a player, you don’t deal a lot with the league. You just b—- about things they do wrong (laughs) and not really appreciate the things that they do right.

“Like I said, it’s been pretty eye-opening, watching how the big machine works. The ins and outs of it all. Where things come from. Where the ideas come from. And just generally the team behind it all.”

But in the here and now, so much is about Team Canada’s roster, with the clock ticking.

And is Getzlaf getting texts from his old pal Corey Perry, prodding him not to forget him for Team Canada?

“I tell him, ‘I keep throwing your name in there, buddy,’” Getzlaf said with a chuckle. “I actually had dinner with him the other night. He was here in Nashville. He’s amazing. He’s still doing it. He still can’t skate, but he finds a way to do it, and he’s still producing. It’s great to watch him.”

Getzlaf and Perry partnered on a line with Jamie Benn at the Sochi Olympics that terrified the opposition.

“That was fun,” Getzlaf said, fondly recalling that.

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry brought their Anaheim Ducks chemistry to Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

A league job, a Team Canada post … where is this all headed for the 40-year-old? Further down the line, because he’s balancing family life with four kids (aged 14, 12, 11 and 9) at home, the idea of helping run an NHL team definitely intrigues him.

“I would like to,” Getzlaf said. “What role that is, I don’t know quite yet. But, yeah, that’s my ultimate goal is to be more involved on a day-to-day basis as far as a team goes. Or even the league. There’s different opportunities within the league.

“But at the moment, my kids are still pretty young, so it’s one of those things I don’t know when that time is, and I probably won’t know until maybe an offer comes in and we have to discuss it. But that’s the ultimate goal. I’m really intrigued by the notion of building a team, understanding a culture, helping create a certain culture. Those things all get the juices flowing from a hockey standpoint. So yeah, that’d be the end goal, is to be involved with an organization at some level — a level where I can make a difference.”

An Olympic gold medal would be a nice item to throw on that emerging managerial resume, to be sure.