Someone will have to explain to NAIT Ooks men's hockey coach Scott Fellnermayr this doesn't happen every year. At the start of this school year, and just a few weeks after taking over the hockey program, the Ooks rookie bench boss got an unexpected, but very welcome, surprise: a former NHL draft pick and professional player wanting to join his team.

Jaynen Rissling was selected in 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round and had just come off playing his sixth season of professional hockey.  

"It was definitely a nice surprise," Fellnermayr said.

"One of our goaltenders, Jordan Papirny, had known him previously and said that he (Rissling) was going to attend NAIT for the instrumentation program and he was just trying to get in."

After finishing his season with the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) last spring, Rissling realized professional leagues would be delayed or possibly cancelled for the 2020-2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So the 27-year-old decided to turn a difficult situation into one that would benefit him in the long term by pursuing his post-secondary education. 

Searching for a school that would provide him with an education he could turn into a successful career, as well as one with an excellent hockey program, Rissling set his sights on NAIT. He applied for the instrumentation program and was accepted for the 2020 fall semester.

"To be honest, I didn't know much about it (the instrumentation program), but I just looked at the hire rate of graduates and it looked pretty good," he said. "And now that I know a little bit more about it, if you look at instrumentation as a whole, it's in everything, so I feel like there's always going to be opportunities for a job."

Moving to Edmonton to attend school at NAIT is a homecoming for Rissling. He grew up on the west end of the city where his grandmother, a former high-level figure skater, first taught him to skate.

"One of my first memories was at the West Ed rink, her trying to bring me on the ice and me very reluctantly not going on," he said.

Rissling comes from a hockey family; his dad, Kelly, played professionally and his uncle, Gary, played in the NHL.

Rissling played for the Canadian Athletic Club in Bantam and Midget – before heading down the QE2 in 2009 to join the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he enjoyed plenty of success over five seasons. As a 16-year-old, the defenceman not only cracked Calgary's lineup, no easy task in the WHL for a 16-year-old, but he helped the Hitmen win a WHL championship.

"Luckily for me I had just grown a bunch so I was physically one of the bigger guys even though I was one of the youngest. But, still, there was a lot of growing to do because I had just had a growth spurt and I was still growing into my body," he said about his first WHL season.

In his final two seasons in Calgary he became a leader on the squad, being named assistant captain and then captain as a 20-year-old.

Michael Stone, who has played in the NHL since 2011, was Rissling's roommate during his first season with the Hitmen, which Rissling credits in helping him develop into a leader.

"He was a really good mentor for me. He did all the right things to be a good hockey player," he said. "It was really good to learn from a guy like that my first year."

As an 18-year-old, Rissling was drafted by the Capitals, the result of a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice.

 "Obviously it was very exciting to have a team from the league that you grow up dreaming about playing in call your name on draft day. That was really exciting, just to be thought of as one of the top 200 or whatever from your age group," Rissling recalled.

As a wide-eyed teenager, Rissling attended the Capitals' training camp and had the opportunity to be on the ice with Alexander Ovechkin, one of the all-time great NHL players. It's an experience Rissling will never forget.

"He's fast, he has a hard shot. It's just kind of crazy, everything that he did seemed to work out for him. Every time he would get the puck it would find its way to the back of the net it seemed," the defenceman said.

Eventually, Rissling's rights were traded to the Nashville Predators. Aside from five games in the American Hockey League, he spent the majority of his professional career in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).

Rissling said he adapted his game from being more of a physical defenceman to one with more of a focus on contributing on the offensive end of the ice in an attempt to fulfill his dream of playing in the NHL. But two things he never changed were being a hard worker and great teammate.

"They're never going to give guys opportunities who are detrimental to a team function, so I was always trying to be a good leader for everyone that came around," Rissling said.

While Rissling has fond memories of his professional career, the experience did open his eyes to some realities of the pro game.

 "Especially in the East Coach League, I found that guys aren't necessarily there for the team; it's trying to get to the next level," he said.

After spending four seasons in the ECHL, playing for four different teams, Rissling's hockey journey took him to England in 2018-2019, where he played for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League.

While England is not known as a hockey hotbed, Rissling said he loved the experience, largely because of the opportunity to experience a different culture and the passion of local fans.

 "It was super cool to play there because the fans, you wouldn't think they would be so passionate, that was the most passionate fans I've ever played in front of, that was wild," he said.

"They'd have chants going, they'd sing the anthem loud, and each team had their own song they would sing after."

Rissling came back to North American to play one more season in the ECHL for the Stingrays before arriving at NAIT. Rissling's biggest adjustment has not been on the ice, but rather in the (virtual) classroom. Prior to attending NAIT, it had been nearly 10 years since the 27-year-old had been a student. But Rissling has quickly made the adjustment. In his first semester, he achieved an impressive 3.5 GPA.

Unfortunately, Rissling and the rest of the Ooks have not spent much time on the ice this school year due to the pandemic. The ACAC season was cancelled and the team has not been able to hold on-ice practices since November due to government restrictions.

However, Fellnermayr said based on the handful of practices the Ooks held in the fall, it is apparent the impact Rissling can make in the ACAC.

"I thought he had a lot of poise with the puck, he was very calm. He definitely looks like he can be very effective at this level," the Ooks head coach said.

Rissling said he has been impressed with the level of play from his new teammates during his short time at NAIT.

"Their size, strength, speed, skills, everything is pretty much on par. Just maybe the hockey sense, being in spots that should be in spots, like in the middle of the ice coming back for a quick breakout."

"There's some good players. We had our scrimmages and those got pretty competitive. It was fun to be back in that element."

Rissling intends to return for the 2021-2022 school year for the second year of the instrumentation program, when he will hopefully put on an Ooks uniform for the first time for an ACAC game.

He also has aspirations of continuing his education after completing his diploma through NAIT's Bachelor of Technology program. So this former NHL draft pick could be an Ook for years to come.