Matthews 10-year-old chasing his hockey dreams

Chase Arnett has loved hockey since the day he got his first stick from his father, Chip, when he was 3 years old.

Chase was a regular at Charlotte Checkers hockey games from the time he was born, but he says he discovered his true passion for playing hockey in an unlikely place: his parents’ Matthews garage.

There, Chase, now 10, and Chip spent hours competing in various drills that ignited the younger Arnett’s dedication to the sport.

“They were playing and going at it all of the time, around the clock,” said Chase’s mother, Briana Arnett. “I don’t think Chase or Chip could get enough. I had to go out and make them come in to eat dinner. Then they’d go right back and start playing again.”

While Chase gave up a lot of size, skill and experience to his father, an off-ice official for the Checkers, he never backed down from a challenge.

“I loved playing in the garage on those little nets with my dad,” Chase said. “We would do different drills, make up drills. It was a lot of fun, and I would usually win.”

Chase started learning how to skate at the Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail when he was 3 years and 11 months old. Chase also started learning hockey at Extreme Ice, beginning in the five-star hockey program just a few months later.

By age 6, Chase was playing for his first team in the Charlotte Metro Hockey Association’s House League. He joined his first travel team, the Pineville Falcons, the same year.

He eventually made the Charlotte Junior Checkers team, where he has played the past three seasons under coaches Anthony Caggiano and Larry Elia on teams made up mostly of players two to three years older.

As a 9-year-old on the Junior Checkers’ Pee Wee A 12U squad, Chase led the team with 65 points (goals plus assists).

This past season as a 10-year-old on the Junior Checkers’ Pee Wee AA 12U team, he had 50 points.

While Chase usually is a couple of years younger than teammates, he says he has met some of his best friends on the Junior Checkers, like Ellie DeCarlo, who he says “is like a sister.”

Chase has also played AAA Elite travel hockey for Team Florida the past two springs, with a coaching staff that includes several former professional hockey players.

He attends at least two practices a week with the Junior Checkers, as well as working with a skating instructor, Tappie Dellinger, a former U.S. figure-skating gold medalist at Extreme Ice, and his skill instructor, Jason Dawe, a former NHL player.

Chase also can be found studying the game on film, often watching old Checkers and NHL games.

“Chase is a very dedicated played who has developed at a pretty high level so far,” Dawe said. “The biggest thing all along for Chase has been his work ethic. He never takes a shift off and goes full throttle in every drill, in every game, in everything he does. That will be a big key to his success in the future.”

Chase will have a chance to take his game to an even higher level this August when he plays with Team Carolina’s Pee Wee AAA squad (Team Carolina’s first Pee Wee squad).

“I love the team part of hockey because I’m not only getting to play my favorite sport but also getting to play with some of my best friends,” said Chase. “I can’t wait to get this season started.”

While Chase, who will turn 11 on May 23, is focused on being the best player he can be now, he can’t help but dream about his future on the ice.

“My first goal is to be a college hockey player, and my dream school would be to play for Notre Dame,” said Chase, one of 28 skaters in his age group invited to Notre Dame’s elite-level camp last summer.“Everybody who plays hockey wants to one day play in the NHL and that’s something I would love to do, too.”

He also is focused being a 10-year-old. He plays baseball and golf and loves to fish.

Chase is a straight-A student as a fifth-grader at Elizabeth Lane Elementary, where he recently was named “most athletic” in his class by his peers.

But he never gets too far from the ice.

“I don’t think I can get enough hockey. It’s not possible,” Chase said.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Matthews 10-year-old chasing his hockey dreams."