Six members of the Timmins Rock will not be back with the NOJHL squad in 2025-26 because they will be too old. Blue-liner Elijah Pool, from left, forward Hayden Rynard, blue-liner Tenzin Nyman, forward Clark Scaddan, forward Jack Kelly and forward and Kai Clayton took the opportunity to pose together on team picture day at the McIntyre Arena recently. Photo by THOMAS PERRY /The Daily Press
Forwards Hayden Rynard, Jack Kelly, Clark Scaddan and Kai Clayton, as well as blue-liners Tenzin Nyman and Elijah Pool concluded their time with the Rock
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
When the final buzzer sounds on a playoff run, or regular season campaign, one of the most difficult tasks is saying goodbye to players completing their final year of Junior ‘A’ eligibility.
With their 5-3 loss to the Lumberjacks in Hearst on April 11, the Timmins Rock’s 2025 playoff run official came to an end, as they dropped their NOJHL semifinal series 4-1.
As a result, forwards Hayden Rynard, Jack Kelly, Clark Scaddan and Kai Clayton, as well as blue-liners Tenzin Nyman and Elijah Pool concluded their time with the Rock.
Nyman (regular season: 40, 3-26-29, 22; playoffs 11, 2-3-5, 4) served as captain of the Rock in the final year of his three-season Rock career.
During that time, he played in 142 regular season games, scoring seven goals and adding 60 assists, good for 67 points, while spending 47 minutes in the penalty box.
In 26 career playoff games, he added two goals and 10 assists, good for 12 points, while spending four minutes in the sin bin.
The 6-2, 173-pound Maple Ridge, B.C., product joined the Rock at the start of the 2022-23 campaign, along with his brother, fellow D-man Kenyon Nyman, who has spent the past two seasons with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
“Obviously, the relationships you build when you go far away from home and have one goal in mind: To win hockey games,” the younger Nyman said, when asked about some of the highlights during his time in Timmins.
“These are some of the best relationships I have ever built in my life and I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything.
“There is so much to love (about my time in Timmins). My billet family has been absolutely great, the boys are phenomenal and the city is awesome. It’s a hockey town and it’s what we came here for back in the day.”
While he has exhausted his Junior ‘A’ eligibility, Nyman would like to continue his hockey career, maybe at the college or university level, like his older brother.
“Where I end up will be where I end up,” he said. “Kenyon is at NAIT, taking welding and he is loving it. It could be a possibility (for me), but I will just have to wait.”
Nyman struggled a little bit when asked if there was any on-ice moment in particular, be it a goal he scored, a hit he delivered, or a big come-from-behind victory the team was able to engineer, that stood out in his mind.
“That’s a tough one,” he said. “I don’t know if there is anything in particular. It is just every moment. There have been many moments, but overall, from a career perspective, it was getting to play hockey with my brother.”
Rynard (regular season: 28, 3-12-15, 10; playoffs: 11, 1-1-2, 17) also completed a three-season run in a Rock uniform in 2024-25.
During that time, he played in 138 regular season games, scoring 19 goals and adding 38 assists, good for 57 points, while serving 37 minutes in penalties.
In 37 playoff games, he added two goals and seven assists, good for nine points, while being assessed 29 minutes in penalties.
The 6-3, 195-pound Courtice, Ont., product joined the Rock at the start of the 2022-23 NOJHL campaign.
“I am glad I got to spend the last three years here, I wouldn’t have wanted to have done it anywhere else,” Rynard said.
“Coming in, during my rookie year, we had a great group of guys and we won the (NOJHL) championship. We couldn’t do it last year, or this year, but we still had a great group of guys.
“I will definitely cherish these memories and the bonds we made here, for sure.”
Six games into the 2024-25 campaign it looked like Rynard’s season might have come to a premature end as he had to be taken off the ice at the McIntyre Arena on a stretcher after sustaining a lower-body injury.
“That was definitely a big wake-up call for me when that happened,” he said. “It was definitely a low moment in my hockey career, but it was just a grind wanting to get back, be with the boys and be back in Timmins. It took some time, but I am glad I made my way back to finish the year out pretty strong.”
Rynard noted the success the Rock enjoyed during his first year with the team was a big factor in his desire to return to the organization year after year.
“The coaching, the atmosphere, the fans, the city, I don’t know, there is nothing not to love about playing here,” he said.
Like his fellow graduates, Rynard would like to continue his hockey career at either the college or university level.
“I am looking at some options, but hopefully I will be playing university or college hockey next year somewhere, hopefully in the United States,” he said.
“That’s the goal. I am kind of torn between business or sports management.”
Pool (regular season: 41, 0-12-12, 60; playoffs: 11, 0-3-3, 10) was a key member of the Rock blue-line for two seasons, serving mainly in a shutdown capacity.
During his NOJHL career, he played in 87 regular season games, scoring one goal and adding 28 assists, good for 29 points, while logging 118 minutes in penalties.
In 18 playoff contests, he didn’t score a goal, but did register five assists and five total points, while spending 20 minutes in the penalty box.
Like Nyman, Pool followed his older brother Ethan to Timmins but the two never played together with the Rock, as Ethan completed his Junior ‘A’ career before Elijah made his debut with the squad.
The 5-11, 185-pound St. Albert, Alta., product joined the Rock at the start of the 2023-24 campaign after watching his older brother win an NOJHL championship and represent the league at the 2023 Centennial Cup Championship in Portage la Prairie, Man.
“We had so many highlights this season, but I would say the biggest one was when we beat the Soo Eagles (in the quarter-finals),” he said. “All the boys were just fired up. Everyone was happy.”
Pool had a good idea of what to expect when he signed with the Rock prior to the 2023-24 campaign, giving his older brother’s experiences in Timmins.
“I couldn’t have asked for better coaches, better teammates, or a better fan base,” he said. “It was just unreal here.”
Pool isn’t sure where he will be playing hockey next year, but he is hoping to find an opportunity.
“Not sure where right now, but I am hoping things will all fall into place pretty soon,” he said.
Prior to joining the Rock, Kelly (regular season: 49, 28-22-50, 16; playoffs: 9, 4-3-7, 0) spent a season with the Powassan Voodoos.
During his NOJHL career, he played in 131 games (78 with the Rock), scoring 53 goals (36 with the Rock) and adding 53 assists (36 with the Rock), good for 106 points (72 with the Rock), while collecting 28 minutes (20 with the Rock) in penalties.
In 30 playoff games (20 with the Rock), he scored nine goals (seven with the Rock) and added six assists (five with the Rock), good for 15 points (12 with the Rock), and served two penalty minutes, with the Rock.
The 6-2, 165-pound Madoc, Ont., product was acquired from the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars on Dec. 5, 2023.
Kelly’s playoff run came to an end a few games prior to his teammates, thanks to an upper-body injury he suffered on home ice in Game 3 of the Rock’s semifinal series against the Lumberjacks.
“I loved it here (in Timmins), out of the three teams I played for, I fell in love in Timmins,” he said.
“It sucked the way things ended for me, but they will have a good group here next year and I will still be following the team. I love this place.”
Kelly was arguably one of the Rock’s most consistent offensive weapons down the stretch in the regular season and in their abbreviated playoff run, making his loss even more impactful.
“That’s hockey, things like that can happen at any time,” he said. “I wasn’t lucky, but I still had a good, fun year.”
Unlike some of his graduating teammates, Kelly did not hesitate when asked to identify the highlight of his two-season stay in Timmins.
“Definitely how loud it was in Game 7 (2004 playoffs),” he said. “I know we lost (4-3 to the Powassan Voodoos), but when Brant (Romaniuk) scored that goal (to tie things up at 3-3 with 2:49 remaining in regulation), I have never heard a building so loud in my life. It was just awesome.”
Kelly also plans to continue playing hockey next season, although nothing is set in stone at this point.
“I will be going to college somewhere, I am just not sure where yet,” he said. “Sports management is going to be the main option, or business, one or the other.”
Scaddan (regular season: 38, 17-17-34, 37; playoffs: 11, 3-3-6, 2) joined the Rock on Oct. 15 after being acquired from the SIJHL’s Fort Frances Lakers in exchange for a player development fee.
The 6-0, 190-pound Thompson, Man., product had a positive impact on the Rock’s offense following that transaction.
“All the guys here, the coaching staff, everyone who is involved with the team, really welcomed me (to Timmins),” Scaddan said. “It is awesome here, I really loved my time here.
“It is not always about winning and losing. You’d love to win, but the group we had here and the things we did were unbelievable. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.”
The crowds Scaddan and his teammates played in front of were a big part of the equation, as well.
“I had never seen anything like that before in Junior ‘A’ hockey, especially being from out west,” he said. “It’s awesome. Timmins loves hockey.”
Indeed, Timmins once again led the NOJHL in average attendance (791) and packed 1,133 fans into the McIntyre Arena for the largest single-game crowd of 2024-25.
Clayton (regular season: 30, 2-7-9, 28; playoffs: 10, 3-2-5, 0) was acquired by the Rock in a deal with the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in exchange for a player development fee on Oct. 26.
His two-year stint in the NOJHL also saw him spend time with the French River Rapids in 2023-24.
Overall, he played in 73 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and adding 29 assists, good for 42 points, and he spent 44 minutes in the penalty box.
