North Richland Hills hockey player ready to join elite Canadian league at 14
Jack Arnold was 7 when he transitioned from half-ice to full-ice hockey — a season before most kids do — and at that moment his parents realized he had a special talent.
Arnold’s ability was rewarded in May when the 14-year-old from North Richland Hills was the first American selected in the Western Hockey League prospect draft as the 16th overall pick by the Spokane Chiefs.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pound right wing was one of only three Americans taken in the first round. Arnold’s Dallas Stars Elite teammate, center Ethan Zhang from Plano, went No. 19 overall to the Tri-City Americans.
Because of the differing pathways to professional hockey for Americans, it’s not as common to see one taken in the first round of the WHL prospects draft. The WHL is one of three major Canadian junior hockey leagues.
Arnold’s mother, Jennifer, reflected on what it meant to hear her son’s name called.
“We’re sitting and watching the draft, and we’re going through all the first-round picks,” she said. “We’re now on the 15th pick, and it was Canadian, Canadian, Canadian, all the way up into the 15th. And my husband gets a text from my son’s agent that said, ‘Pay attention to pick 16, get excited.’
“So we were just, I mean, you can imagine our emotions. My parents were here, my husband’s parents were here. ... And then they announced Jack. It was really cool.”
Jack Arnold reflected on his journey to this point.
“I was young, like 5 years old, when I finally started playing hockey,” he said. “I don’t even like really remember it that well, but I also remember making a lot of like new friends, my teammates and just loving how competitive it is.
“When I finally found out I was going to get drafted, I was just super excited, I really couldn’t believe that, how far I've come in the sport.”
The WHL is one of many possible pathways to pro hockey, and the Arnolds took this one based on the advice of agent Connor Lang, who they say has been instrumental in helping the family find the best path for Jack.
Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks made the leap from the WHL to the NHL when he was selected first overall in the 2023 NHL draft while playing for the Regina Pats.
Arnold and a teammate will live with a host family in Washington, where he’ll attend school online. He likely won’t leave for Spokane until August 2027, when he’s about to turn 16.
To help prepare for the move, Jack will take online classes and travel solo with his club team, the Irving-based Stars Elite, which he has been playing for since he was 8. The team competes across the country during its 55- to 60-game season.
As he prepares over the next year, Jack knows he will have to balance being a teenager with the demands of top-tier athletics. He said he’s prepared for those sacrifices.
“I’m going to be a super hard worker, be coachable, and be a super good teammate. That’s my mentality going into it,” Arnold said. “In my free time, I like to hang out with my other friends. I like to fish a lot with them, and I like to play golf with some of my friends, and I think it’s super important to like be able to do stuff with your friends outside of hockey.”
