Every time I get to watch Arnone play, he always manages to impress me more and more with each viewing. He plays such a strong 200-foot game, creating chances in the offensive zone with his speed and vision while also hustling back towards his own zone to break up plays or pick-pocket opposing puck carriers and regain possession. It just looks like he’s able to just hit a higher gear than most of the other skaters on the ice, showcasing such a quick and effortless skating stride that he uses to put defences on their heels with the puck on his stick and disrupt opponents plays as a forechecker by creating turnovers and showing he was able to create chances in a pinch afterwards. I was particularly impressed with his ability to connect on cross-seam passes in the offensive zone, getting goalies moving side-to-side by setting up east-west scoring chances with crafty passes through traffic. He proved to be such a reliable forward for this Little Caesars team, getting thrown out onto the ice for all situations and excelling in those opportunities.

A jack of all trades, and someone who appears to have made some pretty strong steps in his physical development, Vincent Arnone was of note time-and-time again for Little Caesars, one of the top players regarding playing a complete 200-foot game during the showcase. He had a sturdy build and some nice elements of explosiveness and pop to the ways in which he navigates the ice. He can change direction quickly and adapt himself to where the puck is, and or where it may be going, both when his team has the puck, along with doesn’t. Putting himself in a position to succeed on a regular basis, he often is the recipient of fortunate bounces, along with great set-up passes thanks to his prior work, along with attention to detail regarding the flow of play. Handling and carrying the puck under his own power, I was a big fan of his vision and ability to get teammates involved in the play. Working under pressure he showed great physical resolve with checkers on his back, utilizing some nice edgework to spin off checks in tight spaces, creating pockets of time and space to work with as a result. Working out of pressure he was always able to quickly identify the next option, making some effective passes cross-ice from the half-wall, and or simply reverting it back high to his defenders if there wasn’t a play to be made. He scored some big goals for his team in some of the tighter games, using that power to step away and create some separation from defenders, ripping an accurate snapshot at the net and finding some daylight beyond the goalie. In just about any situation Vincent Arnone found a way to be effective for his team, as mentioned at the start, showing some great strides in his development to kick off his season.

I found Arnone had reached such a high-level of play by the end of the camp, steadily getting better and better each and every game before becoming one of the more prominent forwards on this roster. At first glance, the 3 assists in 4 games don’t necessarily pop off the screen but they also don’t do him any justice in regards to how he truly impacted the Team Gold offence. First and foremost, his quickness was one of the main reasons he was so effective as he was constantly moving his feet on the ice whether it was as a puck carrier or as a forechecker where he used quick bursts to blow by defenders or smother opposing defensemen as well as smart timing on his swings across the neutral zone to receive passes in stride and catch defenders off-guard with his speed. Up there with his skating ability was his incredibly crafty playmaking where it seemed he had a sixth sense on the ice to find open teammates all over the offensive zone sometimes using his speed to push back defenders before slipping it off to the trailer or patiently roaming the perimeter and feeding teammates around the net front. There is still some work to do with his shot which is partly the reason that he wasn’t able to pot a goal in this camp despite putting himself in the optimal positions to garner scoring chances but I’m excited to see how he continues to round out his offensive game in the upcoming season.

Continuing some strong Michigan representation, Vincent Arnone is a strong straight-line skater and with that was able to carry the puck through the neutral zone, get a step on the defender, and create offense off the rush, slipping pucks cross-ice to teammates on partial odd-man rushes. When attacking individually, he could drop the shoulder, make inroads towards the middle lane with powerful crossovers, and lean on a defender in an effort to protect the puck while driving the net. Not necessarily the biggest player, but one with good strength and power, relatively speaking. Quick hands and some nice adaptability on top of his speed and power aided him in getting around traffic, whether it be in the neutral zone or while cycling the puck, once more establishing himself further as one of Little Caesars’ top players.

Some of the Little Caesars’ best scoring chances off this game came off Arnone’s stick. I thought he did a great job at executing controlled entries into the offensive zone with pace where he was able to slip passes into the middle for teammates or cut in towards the high slot and challenge the goaltender with his shot including a partial breakaway late in the game that was stopped by the Jr. Mountie goaltender. He even had a few key defensive plays on the backcheck as well, getting his stick onto his opponents passes or stealing the puck off of opposing puck carriers and quickly turning it the other way.

Arnone’s speed was a contributing factor throughout this game both on and off the puck. He opened the scoring for his team in the first period by skating into space in the neutral zone and attacking the offensive line upon reception to push back the defender before snapping a shot high right over the goaltender’s glove. He’s a player who demonstrated shrewd spatial awareness off-puck off the rush, controlling his speed to get himself into a seam in order to make himself an open target for the puck-carrier. Throughout the game he had more than aa couple breakaways, using his speed to consistently gain advantages by sneaking in behind defenders or simply blowing by them through the neutral zone. He assisted on the game winning goal late in the third period when he attacked wide into the offensive zone, drew pressure to him then hooked a pass to the high slot that was capitalized.

Arnone was one of the more exciting players on the ice for his team, showcasing his creativity and confidence shift after shift. He consistently attacked the middle of the ice with purpose, putting defenders on their heels and generating chaos that led to high-quality chances for his team. His ability to drive play and challenge opponents head-on made him a constant threat. Where he truly shined, though, was on the power play. He was excellent with the puck, threading the needle with precise passes that kept the penalty kill scrambling. His quick, accurate cross-ice feeds routinely opened up seams and forced defenders to scramble, giving Little Caesars a major advantage with the man advantage.

Arnone was extremely active in this one with multiple high quality looks from around the net by constantly asserting himself as a prime passing option in the middle of the ice. He was able to contribute with his playmaking on a couple of the early Team Gold goals after sending a soft touch pass across the crease to DeWitt for a tap-in and not too long after, springing his teammates on a 2-on-1 with a bank pass off the boards. His line as a whole continued to generate chance after chance in the offensive zone with quick small area passing plays below the hashmarks with Arnone having some of the best looks in the second half of play including a partial breakaway late in the second period, after Kelly Green had just taken the lead, but the finishing touch just wasn’t there for him in this game despite the abundance of opportunities to score.

It was difficult for me to identify a true first star of the game as it seemed to be a collective effort that led to the victory for Team Gold but after looking back at my notes, I settled on Arnone because of how impactful he was all over the ice despite not getting himself on the scoresheet. He was noticeable from the start of the game, starting from when he blocked a shot, picked up the puck and darted past from the defender for a breakaway chance and in the neutral zone where he seemed to perfectly time his cuts across the ice to receive a pass and attack into the offensive zone with speed. On zone entries, I liked how he drew defenders below the hashmarks by attacking down the wings with speed before throwing a drop pass to a trailing teammate thus opening up space for his teammates to drive the middle of the ice and even on occassions where he didn’t have as much support while entering the zone, he was able to circle around the perimeter and wait for lanes to open up. He seemed to need only a few strides to reach his top gear which allowed him to drive plays in transition and surprise puck carriers both on the forecheck and on the backcheck with his immediate pressure.

Early in the first period, Vincent displayed good linear speed gaining momentum setting himself up to receive the pass and carry the puck into the offensive zone. Despite losing possession on the same play, he sticks on the puck forcing the defender into the boards which causes confusion as he uses his body to knock the puck off of the Chicago player while they are attempting a transition allowing his team to regain possession. Later in the period, he is able to win a battle behind the net while on the attack, cycling it to his winger, then proceeds to set himself up behind the defencemen in the slot where he receives the pass, pivots, using his body to create more space, and scores on the play.

Helping getting things started for Little Caesars, Vincent Arnone picked up the primary assist on the lone goal for his team, with some good vision he sprung Javir Jaworski on a breakaway chance after sending a puck up-ice and hitting his teammate with speed in the neutral zone. Late in the first he showed off some great linear speed and skating power, bolting up ice, creating some space as he entered the zone, putting the defender on their heels before dishing the puck off and darting to the crease for a give-and-go play. His stride is very mechanically sound, good knee bend, posture, and ankle flexion – he is sturdy, quick, and has good top speed. Combining his stride with some good strength and puck protection ability, he dropped the shoulder on a few rush chances, carving out some ice as charged the crease. In 1-on-1 situations he managed to hold his own quite nicely, relying on the power built from his stride to force defenders flat footed, and using some quick hands to go wide on checkers, his work off the rush was at times the lifeline of Little Caesars offence as they struggled to navigate the Shattuck neutral zone systems. A final note, despite being down big, he never showed signs of being disengaged and continued to compete hard all the way until the end.