Arniel won two Memorial Cups with the Royals in 1980 and 1981 and played twice for Canada at the World Juniors, winning gold the second time in 1982 on loan from his NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets. He had been the Jets second pick at the 1981 draft (their first had been Royals teammate Dale Hawerchuk), and he developed into a steady player, albeit at a level below expectations (after all, in his final year with Cornwall, he had 52 goals and 123 points).
In his four and a half seasons with the Jets he averaged almost 20 goals a year, but after early playoff exits each year to the powerful Oilers he Arniel was traded in the summer of Ô86 to Buffalo where he again provided only mediocre play. In four years there, his production slipped, and the Sabres sent him back to the Jets with Phil Housley, Jeff Parker, and a 1st-round draft choice for Dale Hawerchuk and a 1st-round draft choice.
Winnipeg got the better of the deal, using their draft choice to select Keith Tkachuk while Buffalo chose Brad May. Arniel was traded after another season to Boston and played a handful of games with the Bruins in 1991-1992 before being sent to the minors for the rest of his blading days.
For the next eight years he played in the AHL and IHL, eventually making a third stop in Winnipeg as a member of the Moose, the team the city acquired after the Jets relocated to Phoenix. He retired in 1999.
