Welcome To Columbus, Scott Arniel

New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel in one of many media scrums (BlueJackets.com)

By Rick Gethin

Scott Arniel was introduced as the new Head Coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in an afternoon press conference at Nationwide Arena Tuesday. With this hiring, GM Scott Howson  can truly call this his team.

“This is the job I wanted. There’s 30 jobs in this League”, said Arniel, “and I’m so excited. This is one of the one’s – I had a big circle around this team. I was going to do some other interviews, but this is the one I was after and I’m real excited I got it.”

The man oozes self-confidence and assurance. Even knowing that he was offered the job after another turned it down, what stood out from all of the expected responses was the fact that he wanted to be here. “I don’t really care what happened with the other candidates,” Arniel said. “When Scott (Howson) phoned me yesterday, the honest truth, I thought the call was going to go the other way. My jawed dropped. This wasn’t the call I was expecting.” Scott knows that he has been blessed to have earned the opportunity to coach at the highest level and in the best hockey league in the world.

For a coach who might have been the second choice amongst the Blue Jackets management, this team was his first choice. “This is another challenge for me,” said Arniel, “and I love challenges. I’ve done my homework when it came to this hockey club. I’ve talked to an awful lot of people in the NHL, and everybody had me pointed in this direction. As everyone knows, there are other organizations looking for coaches but this team really intrigued me. It’s young, there’s lots of skill, there’s good experience in here and great goal-tending. There’s lots of good things to get excited about here. And, to me, it’s a great first step.”

Scott Arniel is all smiles as he answers questions from the media at Nationwide Arena (BlueJackets.com)

It’s not the first time that being the second choice in Columbus worked out. GM Scott Howson was the second choice behind current Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray in 2007. So now, you have a first-time GM with a first-time Head Coach. Have the stars finally aligned for the Blue Jackets faithful? Only time will answer that. I can unequivocally state that Columbus is no longer considered a backwater. Rather, it’s an up and coming hockey market that more and more players want to be a part of. It’s been a slow process that looks to pay dividends in the very near future.

Columbus defenseman Marc Methot played against the Scott Arniel coached Manitoba Moose for the final two seasons he was in Syracuse with the Crunch (AHL). He said about Arniel, ” His players (Manitoba Moose) were hard workers. They responded to him well and were one hell of a team (to play against)“. Here’s hoping that the Blue Jackets respond  in the same manner.

In a departure from recent coaches, Arniel stated he likes an up-tempo game when asked about his “system”. “If we don’t have the puck,” he said, “we’ll get it back as quick as possible.” Somehow, I don’t think you’ll see much dump and chase hockey in his playbook. “The players will grow to hear me say,” said Arniel, “time and space, take it away as much as possible.”

He stated that he’s not going to be pulling any punches with the play of this team. “First and foremost, I put an awful lot of hard work into what I do everyday. I’m going to make sure that the team that comes on the ice to play 82 games, it’s going to be hard work every night. We’re not going to cheat the fans and we’re not going to cheat ourselves. If we win or lose and don’t play hard they will get the same message. It’s unacceptable (to play that way).

I’ve watched film of Scott Arniel and think that he’s the right coach at the right time for this young Blue Jackets club. He said the right things at the right time. Of all the candidates that were interviewed for the Head Coach position in Columbus, I believe that the team got the best coach available in Arniel.

“I am extremely flattered and honored to be the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and want to thank Scott (Howson) and the organization for giving me this opportunity. I’ve been impressed by a lot of what I see here. I see myself as a young coach and this is a young, talented team with great potential and I am ready to get to work.”

Columbus, the ride has just begun…

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