Mark Arcobello spent a solitary season in Toronto but left a lasting impression on Marlies fans as the team came close to registering a first championship success.
The Connecticut native was a dominant force in the NCAA for Yale University, earning himself a look in an AHL training camp as a free agent.
Having signed an AHL deal with Oklahoma, Arcobello was reassigned to Stockton Thunder and he impressed during his rookie campaign, earning a recall to the AHL and placing himself firmly in the minds of the Edmonton Oilers who signed the undrafted forward to a two-year Entry-Level Contract.
In total, Arcobello would spend three and a half years with the Edmonton organisation but would not receive a full NHL shot until the third season.
During the 2013-14 season, Arcobello registered 18 points (4-14-18) in 41 games for the Oilers including his first NHL goal against Florida.
The American’s career would take a vastly different trajectory during the 2014-15 campaign despite spending no time in the minors for the first time in his career.
Edmonton opted to trade the centreman, thus ending his time with the organisation.
Arcobello might not have been in Edmonton’s plans but he left a lasting impression amongst the fans of the Oklahoma City Barons. During his time in the AHL with the Barons, Arcobello scored sixty goals and recorded 161 points in just 188 games.
He was also instrumental in consecutive long playoff runs, recording 33 points in thirty-one games, which only ended in Conference Finals losses to Toronto and Grand Rapids respectively.
The 32-year-old would last just four games with Nashville who placed him on waivers.
Pittsburgh claimed Arcobello but subsequently placed him back on waivers and this time Arizona claimed the forward.
A piece of history was made although not one you’d necessarily want as he became the third player in the NHL to play on four different teams within a single season.
In 27 games with the Coyotes to finish the 2014-15 campaign, Arcobello put sixteen points on the board including nine goals to keep his NHL dream.
Toronto signed Arcobello as a free agent on July 1st, 2015 amid a rebuild for the organisation.
Seven games into the 2015-16 season, Arcobello had failed to record a solitary point and was reassigned to the Toronto Marlies after clearing waivers.
Some players might have been disillusioned or downhearted but not Mark Arcobello.
Two goals on his Marlies debut was just the start for the American forward who began with a bang, putting together a seven-game point streak (6 goals-5 assists) for his new team including two game-winners.
Such was Arcobello’s dominance in the AHL, his longest pointless streak that season was two games and that only occurred on one occasion.
Despite playing just 49 regular-season games, Arcobello finished tenth in league scoring with 59 points including 25 goals, as the Toronto Marlies won the North Division, Eastern Conference and League titles.
In his third recall to the NHL, Arcobello finally found the net for the Maple Leafs with a couple of goals paving the way to a victory against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Marlies were huge favourites to claim a first Calder Cup championship in 2016 but it didn’t quite pan out as they fell to Hershey Bears in the Conference Finals.
There’s no doubt that Arcobello could have remained in North America and been a gun-for-hire in the AHL, making plenty of money as one of the top earners in the league.
However, that lifestyle doesn’t provide much security or solidity in your life, especially when you have a family to consider.
So when SC Bern of the Swiss National League offered him a two-year deal and a fresh start it was no surprise that the experienced forward packed his bags for pastures new.
Via Yale News “After going up and down between the AHL and NHL for five years, I decided I wanted a more stable environment to play in,” Arcobello said. “My first year in Switzerland was the most fun I’ve had playing pro hockey … I am able to spend a lot of time with my wife, Mollie, and son, Hunter, since we do not travel very far for games. My success hockey-wise was just a bonus.”
Unsurprisingly, his impact was immediate, scoring less than a minute into his debut for SC Bern and going on to finish the season with 25 goals and 30 points, enough to earn the Regular Season MVP award.
Arcobello has spent the last four seasons of his career with SC Bern, winning a pair of National Championships and is consistently one of the top scorers in Swiss hockey at just a tick over a point-per-game pace.
Arcobello’s future lay elsewhere in the Swiss League from 2020-21 as on October 10, 2019, he agreed to a three-year contract with HC Lugano worth a reported three million Swiss Francs (£2.3 million/ $3.3 million US).
NHL Career 139 Games 24-29-53
AHL Career 237 Games 85-135-220
UK Hockey Blog 