Arniel high on Winnipeg Jets By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 4:05 PM CDT Wednesday, Jul. 17, 2024

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Some observers see holes, Scott Arniel sees options and opportunities.

The head coach of the Winnipeg Jets is understandably optimistic about the coming season, while not ignoring the departure of several key pieces of the puzzle during free agency.

Since he was hired in late May as the successor to Rick Bowness, Arniel has been working at a frenetic pace: putting together a coaching staff and preparing for the upcoming season.

The 2024 NHL Draft and the annual Jets’ development camp is in the rearview mirror and Arniel has basically set the agenda for the coaches summit, which will take place at the end of the month.

So what have the first seven weeks on the job been like for the man who is going to be running the bench of his adopted hometown team?

“It’s been busy,” Arniel said on Wednesday during a one-on-one conversation after a downtown press conference held at the United Way Winnipeg building.

“Going from the draft to free agency to development camp, it was on for a while. Now, there is finally some time to sit back and get some other things done.”

Arniel wasn’t involved in the selection process at the draft in Las Vegas, but it was a good opportunity to spend time with new assistant coaches Dean Chynoweth and Davis Payne and returning assistant coach Marty Johnston.

“It was good to interact with those guys and to see their personalities,” said Arniel.

“They got to meet all of our scouts, management and ownership. We had a couple of dinners where we were all out together. We shared some old stories and it was fun. It was good to hear the different stories from different organizations they’d worked with as well.”

“Going from the draft to free agency to development camp, it was on for a while. Now, there is finally some time to sit back and get some other things done.”–Scott Arniel

Although the Jets didn’t make any big splashes in free agency, Arniel expects internal growth to help offset the departures of backup goalie Laurent Brossoit, hard-nosed defenceman Brenden Dillon, fellow blue-liner Nate Schmidt and experienced forwards Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.

Arniel also believes a few of the under the radar signings could prove to be valuable, whether it’s retaining defenceman Colin Miller or bringing in depth guys like forwards Mason Shaw and Jared Anderson-Dolan, D-men like Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan or goalies like Kaapo Kahkonen and Eric Comrie.

“We went above and beyond, trying to get some players to come here and to get some players to come back,” said Arniel. “We lost out on some players, but at the end of the day, we got depth for the organization that we needed in all positions. So, that’s a good move forward for us.

“You know what, we still have a good hockey team. We have lots of good players here that we feel very comfortable with some young players that will get an opportunity now. This opens doors for other guys to get opportunities to show what they can do. My advice to them is to be in great shape, have a great attitude and work your tail off. Don’t let anyone take that situation away from you.”

One of those players moving up the depth chart figures to be Dylan Samberg, who did an excellent job in a third-pairing role and on the penalty kill and figures to see a boost in minutes after Dillon signed with the New Jersey Devils.

“He’s going to get a bigger role,” said Arniel. “He’s grown over the last couple of years, but it’s his opportunity to move forward.”

One of the questions at this point in the offseason revolves around who will replace Monahan as the second-line centre behind Mark Scheifele.

“What I always say is that the players decide what the lineup is going to look like. Who comes out, how they play and how they take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them.”–Scott Arniel

Arniel didn’t rule out Cole Perfetti being considered to move from wing back to centre, and Brad Lambert is definitely in the mix to try and win a job, but he sounded comfortable going with Vladislav Namestnikov in that spot if that’s how things shake out.

“I do prefer (Perfetti) on the wing, but at the end of the day, it is his natural position,” said Arniel. “We’ll just kind of play that out. Vladdy will probably get a good look there as well. He showed us last year that he can do it. You never know what happens.

“Last year, Ville Heinola made our hockey team and he breaks his ankle in the last exhibition game and that changed his whole season. You don’t know where we’re going to be in October.”

Arniel is certainly looking forward to his third training camp since returning to the organization – and his first since being named head coach.

“We want competition,” said Arniel. “There are some guys that we want to see. We want to see them in exhibition, we want to see them in practice and see how they kind of mix into our group.

“What I always say is that the players decide what the lineup is going to look like. Who comes out, how they play and how they take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them.”

As for some of the suggestions the Jets could be in danger of taking a step back next season after finishing fourth overall in 2023-24, Arniel isn’t too concerned about the summer prognostications.

“There’s nothing wrong with flying under the wire,” said Arniel. “We’ll just go about our business. We know what our strengths are, we know the areas we need to improve and it’s going to be a process.

“When we get to training camp, we’re not going to be looking at the end of the season, we’re looking to build out of camp, get unified, come together as a team and then take those steps forward. I’m really excited about what we can do in this league.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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