Big Ben joins Meteors
Ben Arnold had the door of his dream to play in the Ontario Hockey League shut but he has quickly pivoted to a new aspiration.
The 17-year-old St. Catharines native was selected by the Niagara IceDogs in the 11th round of the 2023 Ontario Hockey League draft and went to camp with the team for the last two seasons before being released earlier this week.
Arnold could see the writing on the wall and had a backup plan, signing with the Fort Erie Meteors where he is expected to contribute significantly on the backend.
“Obviously the next step is to focus more on the school route now, that’s more where I want to be,” Arnold said. “I’m a good student and I can put myself in that situation and I think Fort Erie is a good place to play to help me out there.
“I think I wanted to keep the dream going of playing in the OHL but I saw the signings and realized it was coming to an end so it’s on to the next step and thinking about my future.”
Arnold played U18 AAA in Burlington last season and also got into one game with the Meteors as an associated player.
“He put in the effort to come to a lot of practices and just got better every time,” Meteors associate coach Anthony Passero said. “We had our eyes on him and I think he liked what he saw here. He just fits right in with the group. The group knows him and I think he’s ready to step in.”
Passero feels Arnold’s skill set will translate well to junior.
“He kind of does it all. He’s a right-handed shot and he defends hard defensively,” Passero said. “He plays with confidence — he grew over the summer which was nice to see — but he’s one of those guys who can run your first power play but he can also be a stay-at-home guy.”
Arnold is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s going to be more fast-paced hockey, not much stick-handling. It’s more catch and make the play,” he said. “I saw they had a lot of success last year and I want to be a part of that this year and hopefully we can go back to back and see what happens.”
Arnold enjoys adding offence from the blueline.
“I like getting up the ice, getting in to the play and also being aggressive. I’m not the guy to make the huge hit but I’ll sacrifice myself to make the play.”
Passero said Arnold’s offensive potential is welcome on a backend that also includes returning rearguards Rylan Masterson, Cam Thorpe, RJ Schmidt, and Owen Cressman. Rookie and Fort Erie native Tyson Zimmerman is also expected to be part of the core six.
“Time and space is going to be the No. 1 thing,” Passero said. “He plays pretty quick and he’s confident with the puck so sometimes that can be a hindrance so he needs to learn to play with his head up and move the puck and get up the ice. I already like the way he jumps up the ice and gets into the play — it’s something we really haven’t had in a few years here. As long as he continues to do it at this level and not get gun shy, he’ll be fine, especially in our rink it’s so big. His skating will get him around.”
The Meteors, who topped the Port Colborne Sailors 5-0 in exhibition play Wednesday, are in Stratford Friday for more pre-season action.
The Meteors open the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League regular season Saturday, Sept. 14 at home versus Caledon.
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