Arniel happy to be back in River City

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This article was published 23/12/2022 (1031 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON — There’s been a lot of talk about Rick Bowness and the impact he’s had on the Winnipeg Jets. That’s going to happen when you’re the head coach and in the first few months on the job you take a team that missed the playoffs by 10 points and turn them into a one of the NHL’s top clubs.

But if you believe it takes a village to raise a child, then it must take more than one man to completely change the path of a group of grown men. Indeed, surrounding Bowness is a support staff that without their input and high hockey IQ, the Jets wouldn’t be where they currently are – fighting for first place in the Central Division heading into the holiday break.

Atop that list is Scott Arniel, who was hired as an associate coach for the Jets in early July. Arniel, who runs the defence and is responsible for the penalty kill – a unit that ranks top-5 in the NHL, no less – has also made quite the impression coaching in the city in which he started as a professional player and coach.

“First and foremost, he’s just a really good person, someone who you feel like he cares about you as someone away from hockey as well. He’s been around the game a long time; super knowledgeable in all situations,” said Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon, who first met Arniel when they were both with the Washington Capitals. “Him coming in here, that was a big emphasis for him, was our defending, our D-zone, penalty kill and he’s also running the defence. I’m around him quite a bit and he’s really helped our group. It’s pretty night and day from how we were last year to this year, and as we’ve talked about for a while, we’ve had so many injuries and still done a good job and found a way to be successful.” Arniel needs no introduction in hockey circles, particularly in Winnipeg, where he was drafted 22nd overall by the Jets in 1981 and played his first five seasons in the NHL. After his playing career was over, Arniel was hired as an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose for two seasons (2000-2002), eventually returning to become the head coach (2006-10), leading the Moose to the Calder Cup final in 2009.

Winnipeg is where Arniel would meet his wife, Lia, who runs a physical therapy business in the city. Together they have a son and daughter, both of whom spent much of their formative years on the Canadian prairies, and in April became grandparents.

“It’s just awesome to be here, to have family so close,” Arniel told the Free Press. “It’s been a great season — still lots to play — and with a great group of people.”

Arniel had interviewed to be the head coach before the Jets ultimately went with Bowness. At 60 years old and with years of experience coaching in the NHL, both as an associate and head coach, Arniel had told himself it was the top job or bust in Winnipeg.

He also never imagined Bowness would be behind the bench, and once the news was announced, he changed his plans. That’s how much respect Arniel has for the Jets bench boss, but also how much belief he has in Bowness’ approach to the game.

“I knew that there was a lot of detail to what he did. But now he’s taken it to another level, and I’ve worked with some really good coaches in the last 10-12 years that had detail,” Arniel said. “But with Rick, it’s the all the little stuff we’re always showing. He wants us to show players continuously stuff that will help them in their game.”

Attention to the small details has been a high priority for Arniel over his NHL coaching career. A run that began as an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres (2002-06), then as head coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2010-12), followed by stints as an assistant with the New York Rangers (2013-18) and Capitals (2018-22).

In fact, there’s a lot of similarities between Arniel and Bowness, so much so that when you talk to players, they’ll often echo the same remarks about both men. A significant element that Arniel has brought to the Jets is one-on-one video review with the team’s defencemen, a luxury rarely afforded at this level given how busy coaches are in the NHL.

“At the NHL level, as much as there’s teaching going on, there’s not as much, like in the AHL, where you have maybe a little bit more practice time and you have a little more one-on-one time to get guys to the NHL. But Arny does a lot of teaching every day, brings a lot of stuff to work on,” Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo said. “Sometimes you can get too much video and you kind of lose sense of it all, but Arny cuts a few clips here and there of things that are kind of standard for each guy and things you can fall back on when your game gets out of sorts.”

DeMelo added: “It’s something we didn’t have a lot of in the past. He’s such an easy guy to talk to, great guy to bounce things off of and he’s always wanting us to improve our game.”

When Bowness contracted COVID-19 and was forced to miss several games early into the season, Arniel took over and the Jets, still working through the growing pains of implementing new systems, didn’t miss a step. It’s been a good situation for him, personally and professionally, and with a coaching staff — which also includes two other bright minds in assistants Brad Lauer and Marty Johnston — Arniel is happy to be where he is.

“The biggest thing — and, obviously, winning helps — is guys are having fun,” Arniel said. “I just like to see the excitement the guys are having for each other and care that they care about each other. We’re seeing that and, for me, it’s fun to be around that.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton