As the official press conference by the Blue Jackets will take place in just a few moments, I wanted to highlight a few good articles on further getting to know Head Coach Scott Arniel.
Having coached under Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff and Anaheim’s Randy Carlyle, Arniel brings a lot of experience to the table. He also played 730 NHL games in his career, as well as time in the AHL and IHL.
The 2009 AHL Coach of the Year is said by many to be the best coach not in the NHL — until now.
Here’s a take from the Winnipeg Free Press on Arniel’s opportunity:
What will Scott Arniel do for the Columbus Blue Jackets?
If the Blue Jackets are lucky, it will be the same he did for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose — establish a high standard and stick to it.
Read more here.
Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press also offers some background info on Arniel in his article ‘Arniel gets the call from NHL‘
AGE: 47
NHL teams: 3 (Winnipeg, Buffalo, Boston)
IHL teams: 4 (San Diego, Utah, Houston, Manitoba)
NHL games: 730
NHL goals: 149
Coaching jobs: 4 (player-assistant with Houston, assistant with Manitoba and Buffalo, head coach in Manitoba)
Head coaching wins: 181
Major awards: 5 (two Memorial Cups as a junior in Cornwall, gold medal with Canada at world junior championship, Turner Cup with Utah Grizzlies and coach of the year with the Moose.
I also just wanted to take a quick moment to highlight the article ‘Scott Arniel – The Man For The Job?‘ by Rick Gethin of The Hockey Writers, as his take on Arniel a week ago is very fitting now.
So, let me hear it. What are your thoughts on Arniel? I, for one, am very excited at this new chapter in Blue Jackets history. I believe Arniel will prove to be one of the true up and coming coaches in the league very quickly.