Ryan Getzlaf joins NHL Department of Player Safety

The former Ducks captain served as a player development coordinator for his old team last season.

Even though his NHL career has ended, Ryan Getzlaf is still moving up the rungs in the league. After serving as a player development coordinator with the Ducks last season, he now joins the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Getzlaf was on the ice at Ducks development camp in July, assisting with drills and giving advice to Ducks prospects. However, he was not included on the Ducks’ front office page in any official capacity like he had been previously.

It’s unclear what Getzlaf’s role will be at his new job, but he will work alongside former Duck George Parros, who is the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ryan as the newest member of our department," Parros said. "His accomplishments on the ice speak for themselves: he won at every level and was widely respected for being a hard-nosed and highly-skilled Player and effective leader. From his rookie NHL season in 2005 until his recent retirement, he lived and played through many of the changes our game has seen, which will provide our group with unique and valuable perspective moving forward.”

Getzlaf could be a hard-nosed and physical player when he needed to be during his NHL career and had a couple of run-ins with the Department of Player Safety during his playing days, though he never required serious punishment for any of his actions.

With 1,097 career penalty minutes combined between the regular season and playoffs, Getzlaf is more than familiar with what goes.