"I think it's going to give you a little bit of a jump start," Rinne said of the game action he's already received. "At the World Cup, it was a great experience; it didn't go like we planned, but it was a great experience. Just going on the ice a little bit earlier than usual in the summer, I think it's only going to help at the beginning of the season. Right now, of course my focus is on being back on the ice with my teammates and getting back in a game shape, but feeling good so far, really good."
The Predators are hoping and expecting that early start will mean good things for the 33-year-old, who is set to begin his eighth consecutive season as the club's No. 1 puck stopper.
"His whole career, he's been an elite goaltender and were counting on him to be the backbone of this team," Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's a guy that's capable of winning hockey games for us. He has for two years, and we expect nothing less than that from him going into this year."
Rinne expects the same from himself, and the work he put in during the offseason - physically and mentally - is something that could prove to be just what was needed to continue his status as one of the top goaltenders in the world.
"Just getting a good rest, first of all, after the season, and mentally getting back to just being myself; I think that's what's the most important thing is being happy and feeling good about yourself," Rinne said. "But then getting back to work, I had a really good summer, stayed healthy, worked hard, and I think just the fact that we had the World Cup, I think that was something that was in the back of my mind the whole time in the summertime and just made me work really hard. Hopefully I can show it on the ice and hopefully things start well for me right way, but I'm confident that I had a really good summer."