| Position: | Centre |
| Shoots: | Right |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 195 |
| Birth Date: | 16 November 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Team: | Cardiff Devils |
| League: | EIHL |
| Former Teams: | Providence Bruins Boston Bruins Eisbären Berlin Lukko Dornbirn Bulldogs Vienna Capitals Augsburger Panther HC Bolzano EC Bad Nauheim Bratislava Capitals HK Poprad Kassel Huskies |
| Draft: | 97th overall |
| Draft Year: | 2008 |
| Draft Team: | Boston Bruins |
| Career Start: | 2009 |
James Gregory Arniel (born November 16, 1989) is a Canadian ice hockey centre who signed to play for the Cardiff Devils in June 2023 [1] after spending the previous winter playing for Kassel Huskies of the DEL2.
Arniel was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fourth round (97th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and played one game for them during the 2010–11 season. He is the nephew of Scott Arniel.
June 22 2008 after being drafted in the 4th round 97th overall by the Boston Bruins, Arniel was out celebrating and got behind the wheel of his vehicle after attending stages nightclub in his hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Arniel blew 2.5 times the legal limit and was arrested and charged with a DUI.
On November 9, 2010, the Boston Bruins recalled Arniel on an emergency basis from the AHL's Providence Bruins, and on November 28, 2010, Arniel made his NHL debut, suiting up for the Bruins in an away game against the Atlanta Thrashers. He was awarded a Stanley Cup ring and included on team picture for his play. However, Arniel did not qualify to have name engraved on the Stanley Cup (41 regular season game, or 1 game in the finals).[2]
On August 20, 2012, Arniel signed in Europe to a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin of the German DEL.[3] In his second European season, Arniel transferred from Lukko Rauma of the Finnish Liiga, to Dornbirner EC of the Austrian EBEL.[4]
Having joined the Vienna Capitals for the 2018–19 season, Arniel continued in the EBEL scoring 11 points through 19 games. On February 14, 2019, Arniel was mutually released from his contract in returning to the DEL in joining Augsburger Panther for the remainder of the campaign.[5]
Arniel returned to the EBEL the following summer, signing a one-year deal with Italian outfit, HC Bolzano, on August 2, 2019.[6]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 2004–05 | Kingston Predators | ODHA | 44 | 34 | 50 | 84 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Kingston Voyageurs | OPJHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 61 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 30 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 68 | 31 | 31 | 62 | 51 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 20 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 40 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2008–09 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 63 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Providence Bruins | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 67 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 78 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 74 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 50 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 2013–14 | Lukko | FIN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Dornbirner EC | EBEL | 29 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Dornbirner EC | EBEL | 54 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Dornbirner EC | EBEL | 53 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Dornbirner EC | EBEL | 53 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Dornbirn Bulldogs | EBEL | 54 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2018–19 | Vienna Capitals | EBEL | 19 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Augsburger Panther | DEL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | HC Bolzano | EBEL | 42 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | EC Bad Nauheim | DEL2 | 49 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Bratislava Capitals | ICEHL | 14 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | HK Poprad | SVK | 37 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2022–23 | Kassel Huskies | DEL2 | 47 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| AHL totals | 219 | 42 | 60 | 102 | 68 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||