On the Forecheck
A Grand Captain
by Forechecker on 12/20/08 at 11:06 AM ET
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Tonight in Nashville against the New York Islanders, Jason Arnott will play his 1000th NHL game, a milestone achievement in what has become a remarkable career. Having started out with the post-Messier Edmonton Oilers in 1994, Arnott has been a major contributor everywhere he’s played, combining steady offensive production with reliable defensive work, the latter honed in long stretches playing in New Jersey and Dallas.
Jessica Bliss of the Tennessean provides a profile heading into tonight’s game, which includes the captain’s reaction to a gift from his teammates presented at practice yesterday; a camouflage ATV that Arnott, an avid hunter (predator?) will find good use for in the wooded hills of Tennessee:
The mean green hunting machine was driven onto the ice during a post-practice stretch.
It was clearly an emotional and meaningful surprise for Arnott, who looked across the ice in shock as the hefty tires crunched across the rink in his direction, eliciting whoops and hollers from his teammates.
“To receive a gift like that from your fellow teammates, it almost puts a tear in your eye,” Arnott said. “It’s very special.”
I’ve long considered Arnott to be one of the most under-rated players in the league. His offensive totals don’t garner widespread attention, but when taken in total, his two-way game is among the NHL’s best. Long seen as an outstanding 2nd-line player, he stepped into a larger role upon signing with Nashville and has assumed the leadership burden admirably, most notably of late by pounding Vancouver’s Alex Burrows after he took a run at J.P. Dumont a couple weeks ago.
Still under contract for a couple more seasons after this one, Nashville is fortunate to have #19 leading the charge. He’s an integral part of a strong core group of players that David Poile has assembled, and he deserves the recognition he’ll receive tonight. If you don’t already have tickets, check out the discounted ticket offer on the lower part of the sidebar to the right; follow the link, use the code word predators at checkout, and come watch the Preds take out their recent frustrations on the hapless Islanders tonight.
Filed in: Nashville Predators | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Tags: jason+arnott,
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