Michigan State University Athletics
Meet the Rookie: Joel Arseneault
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Sophomore defenseman Joel Arseneault was a late edition to the 2015-16 Spartans. The native of Kenora, Ontario, played for the MSU Club Team last season and was given the opportunity to join the team in early September.
Describe your emotions when you found out you were getting the opportunity to join the team.
I was really excited. I was really happy I pushed all I could when I had the opportunity to prove to the coaches what I could do. When I got the call, I was in shock. I had to do a double take and to see if it was actually real. I've been training for it all summer, and I'm happy to be here.
How did you end up coming to Michigan State?
I wanted to do something different. Most of my friends stayed close to home in Canada and I wanted to travel and go to school, at the exact same time and I found Michigan State. I knew I wanted to study engineering and I found they had a really good engineering program so I applied and ended up getting a bit of an academic scholarship, which helped a little more.
What are you looking forward to most about the season?
Just improving. Improve every aspect of my game I can and take most I can from what they're going to be teaching.
Describe your game in one word.
Defensive.
Do you have any pregame superstitions?
I like to keep it quieter. I really like to really stretch out my body and maybe sit out on the bench and visualize what I have to do.
What do you like to do with your free time off the ice?
Most of the time I'm doing homework. But just hanging with the guys. Getting to know them better and make it more of a family.
What NHL player do you like to model your game after?
I wouldn't say model so much, but growing up, I really admired Scott Niedermayer's play and how he could always have the puck on his stick and know where he's going 100 percent of the time.
For more on Arseneault, read his entire bio here.
