The Teslin Tornado has hung up the skates.

Clayton Thomas, a 35-year-old centre with the Nuway Crushing Whitehorse Huskies, announced his retirement following Friday’s 9-6 win over the North Island Capitals.

Thomas was instrumental in the club’s resurrection last season, and was serving as an assistant captain.

“The team’s in good shape and I’ve had injuries and probably shouldn’t be playing contact hockey,” he explained to the Star today. “I looked around the dressing room and we’ve got a solid, loaded lineup.

“I didn’t think I was helping at all. If we were light on leadership, I’d stick around and play in any position. But we’re not. We’ve got five guys on the team that were captains of NCAA hockey teams.”

Thomas grew up in Teslin and said one of his dad’s old sayings crossed his mind as he contemplated his retirement from competitive hockey.

“Young pups are best on a beaten trail but it takes an old dog to break a new trail,” he said. “The Huskies have all the trailbreakers they need. Time to let the young pups stretch their legs.”

Thomas acknowledged he felt it was time to give way to 20-year-old Mike Arnold, who currently leads the local recreational league in scoring.

“Clayton Thomas was an integral piece of the Huskies organization,” said head coach Michael Tuton. “Without his vision of what this team could be, none of us as a team, an organization or a community would be in the position that we are in today.

“I personally owe him a great debt of gratitude for hiring me and allowing me to be part of this. ... I hope the Huskies can follow through on his dream of bringing the Coy Cup home to Whitehorse.”

Prior to the current edition of the club, the Huskies team had been dormant since 2009, when it reassembled for one season to take another shot at the Allan Cup, awarded annually to Canada’s top AAA hockey team.

In 2014, Thomas joined the Fort Nelson Yeti for their Coy Cup run alongside fellow Yukoners Evan Campbell, Kane Dawe and goalie Cory McEachern.

The forward group starred offensively for the Yeti, but ultimately watched as the Williams Lake Stampeders won the trophy on home ice.

Thomas said he thinks the Huskies have a solid chance at taking the B.C. trophy to Yukon this season.

“I think they’ve got it,” he said of the team’s Coy Cup dream. “They have everything in line. But at the end of the day, it’s about will. We might have a stacked team, but they’re going to have to want it. Nothing’s going to be handed to them.”

He also lauded the team’s management group and fan support.

“We’ve got great community involvement now and I think we can count on that fan base now. ... This year was one of those years where we should’ve folded just because of the bad luck. But it came together and that means we can overcome obstacles.”