Nearly two weeks after it was announced, the Timmins Rock formally introduced their new head coach, Ryan Woodward.

CLICK HERE for our previous coverage on the new coach.

In choosing Woodward, the Rock is getting a proven winner, a former Dudley-Hewitt Cup Champion as a player and a former Junior ‘C’ Champion with the Picton Pirates in 2013.

Team President Ted Gooch says they got great applicants from across Canada, and even some from London, England but Woodwards floated to the top.

“He’s definitely got a lot of experience in terms of coaching, playing,” Gooch said, “He’s been a winner at every level, from coaching and playing.  He definitely fit the mould in terms of what the Rock is looking for to help bring a championship to the city.”

The President admits it’s a tough challenge to fill the shoes of longtime coach Paul Gagne, who retired after last season.

“(Ryan) knows that and he’s willing to set the bar high to be able to achieve it,” he said.

The new coach added, “I’m not going to try and replace anybody.  I’m going to be Ryan Woodward, you’re going to get to know me quick.  I’m pretty straight-forward, expectations are going to be clear and I’m going to demand a lot out of our guys and every day’s not going to be an easy day.”

“I’m going to demand it out of them so I get the best out of them and in return, we’ll get the results on the ice.”

Woodward says Timmins has a great reputation as a hockey community, and is excited to get started.

“It’s a great privilege and honour to be hired by the Rock,” he said, “I’m really looking forward to being part of the community, moving up here and calling Timmins home.”

Woodward says he’s had great conversations with the Board of Directors, and notes it seems they have the same views on how to lead a team to success.

Last season, Timmins sported a league-high attendance average of 791.  Fan support was one of the big things that attracted Woodward to the City with the Heart of Gold.

He says he wants to play an entertaining brand of hockey for the fans, but wants to do so while playing the right way.

“I think we want to play the game a little faster and play the game hard, goal line to goal line,” Woodward said, “It’s going to be an adjustment for the players that are returning and we want the camp to be competitive and we’re going to work hard all summer long to bring the best players we can to Timmins.”

Among them, Woodward hopes is a new crop of local players looking to either return or make the jump up.

“I want to bring local players back,” he said, “I think that’s an important part of any junior hockey organization, to have that local flavour.”

Add to that a relentless work ethic every day, Woodward says he plans to lead by example and “set the tone every single day.”

As a former NCAA All-American, that tone will be felt throughout the locker room and he wants that work ethic on and off the ice.

“To build a culture of success, I think accountability matters,” says Woodward, “I think preparation matters and I think winning matters.  We’re going to set the bar extremely high for our players.”

Recently, Woodward was Assistant Coach with the Wellington Dukes (OJHL).

In his two seasons, the team was able to advance into the 2nd round of the playoffs.

The Dukes sport highly-regarded junior coach Marty Abrams, so one can imagine the learning experience that was for Woodward to bring here.

Woodward—who is from Wellington—says it had to be a special opportunity for him to leave home, and Timmins was it.

But he knows the road ahead will be tough, and that includes coming to understand all the team’s strengths and weaknesses.

“We’re going to be a structured team,” Woodward added, “We’re going to play with a lot of purpose, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to be well conditioned and we’re going to be a hard team to play against.”

“Teams aren’t gonna enjoy coming to Timmins to play.”

As for Assistant Coaches, Gooch says it’s ultimately up to Woodward on who he has with him, but James Daschuk and Marc Bisson are welcome back with open arms.

Gooch adds Daschuk and Bisson will be working with Woodward over the next couple days.

Filed under: Local News