Tyler Lawrence Arnason (born March 16, 1979) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

and the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

Early life

He is the son of former NHL winger

Chuck Arnason Ernest Charles Arnason (born July 15, 1951) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), right wing who played 401 games over eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Flames, ...

, and was born in Oklahoma City, when his father was a member of the

Oklahoma City Stars The Oklahoma City Stars are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma City University, located in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAI ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL). As a result, Arnason holds dual citizenship to both the United States and Canada. Arnason and his family moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

following the end of his father's career. He attended

St. John's-Ravenscourt School St. John's-Ravenscourt School (commonly referred to as SJR) is an independent, co-educational, university-preparatory school founded in 1820. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the school delivers an enriched curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade ...

, graduating in 1997. Arnason is the brother of Canadian actress and screenwriter Aubrey Arnason.

Playing career

Arnason was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, Mi ...

. In his first professional season, Arnason started out with the Blackhawks but due to poor conditioning spent most of the year with affiliate the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

. He was impressive in the AHL however, selected in the All-Star game for PlanetUSA. Arnason was also awarded the

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award The Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award is given each year to the player in the American Hockey League determined to be the most outstanding rookie. The award is based on voting by the media and the players. It was named after Dudley "Red" Garrett ...

as the league's top rookie. In the 2002–03 season, his first full season in the NHL, Arnason played in the NHL Youngstars Game and was named in the All-Rookie team. During the 02–03 season, Arnason recorded his first career NHL

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

, scoring all three Chicago goals in a 3–3 tie at San Jose on December 28. His best season was in 2003–04 when he amassed 55 points. While playing with Chicago he was part of the "ABC" line with two other young forwards, Mark Bell and

Kyle Calder Kyle Charles Calder (born January 5, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Duck ...

. In the very early morning of January 21, 2003 Arnason was involved in an off-ice incident. Arnason,

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served an assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022. Housley was th ...

and

Theoren Fleury Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author, and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of the ...

were leaving the Pure Platinum strip club in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

when Fleury punched the club's manager in the face. Housley and Arnason had to step in to prevent Fleury from being beaten by the bouncers. On March 9, 2006, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for

Brandon Bochenski Brandon Louis Bochenski (born April 4, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey player and politician. He played 156 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for several teams before serving as captain of Barys Astana in the Kontinenta ...

and a second-round pick. In the nineteen games he played for Ottawa in the regular season, he registered four assists and failed to score a goal. He was a healthy scratch in the playoffs. The Senators chose not to give him a qualifying offer, so he became an unrestricted free agent. On July 1, 2006, Arnason signed a one-year deal with the

. His dad also played in Colorado as a member of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

hockey team. Arnason enjoyed a return to form by posting 49 points for the Avalanche in the 2006–07 season. He was consequently awarded a two-year extension by the Avalanche on June 22, 2007. On July 3, 2009, Arnason signed a one-year

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

for the 2009–10 season. On September 17, 2009, Arnason failed to make the Rangers out of training camp and was assigned to affiliate, the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

, for the beginning of the season. On November 10, 2009, without the ambition to play in the AHL he was suspended by the Rangers and released from his contract to sign with the European team

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga ( lv, Rīgas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LLU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of ...

of the Kontinental Hockey League. Following a difficult transition and recording only 11 points in 26 games, Tyler's contract was not renewed by Riga at season's end. Returning to North America, as a free agent, he accepted a tryout invitation to attend the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

training camp for the 2010–11 season. Subsequently, released from the Panthers during the preseason, Arnason then initially accepted another invite to his local

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

club the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

, affiliate of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

, before electing to not report to camp on September 27, 2010. Arnason then accepted a temporary contract to return to Europe, signing with Swiss team

EHC Biel EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the tea ...

of the NLA on October 14, 2010. He scored 10 points in 9 games with Biel before he moved on to

EHC Visp EHC Visp is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Visp and competing in the Swiss League (SL). The club was founded in 1939 and became Swiss champion in 1962. Visp has also won the league title in NLB three times; 1960, 2011 and 2014. The ...

of the NLB, signing a contract for the remainder of the season on November 11, 2010. However a week later, Tyler was released playing in just a single game with Visp, after both parties mutually opted to exercise an exit clause in the contract on November 18, 2010. On January 31, 2011, it was announced that Arnason had joined Finnish team, Espoo Blues, for the remainder of the season. However, his tenure with his new club was again short lived, as after 8 games, Arnason sought a release from the Blues to return to the United States on February 28, 2011. On October 7, 2011, Arnason was named on the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the t ...

opening night roster for the 2011–12 AHL season. After seven games with the Stars, Arnason opted to be released from his try-out and end his professional career.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links