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Winnipeg Jets Season Review: The Top 10 NHL Center

By Kyle McCarthy

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 14: Mark Scheifele #55 of the Winnipeg Jets looks on during a first period stoppage in play against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Two of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 14, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Knights defeated the Jets 3-1 to tie the series 1-1. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 14: Mark Scheifele #55 of the Winnipeg Jets looks on during a first period stoppage in play against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Two of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 14, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Knights defeated the Jets 3-1 to tie the series 1-1. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Your Winnipeg Jets season review series continues! Today we’ll be tackling a young, talented center who always seems to be a little underrated.

The Winnipeg Jets drafted Mark Scheifele seventh overall in 2011, their first draft pick after being brought up north to Winnipeg.  Who better to be leading the team into this new era?

It feels as though nobody notices how good Scheifele is. Well, I guess they do now, after he scored 14 goals in 17 playoff games. That number still leads the NHL, by the way. Alex Ovechkin has tied it, but has played six more games.

And is also the most prolific goal-scorer of this generation. But Mark Scheifele will not be a flash in the pan. And that would be because he never was. I hear quite a bit of talk about Scheifele’s “breakout” in the playoffs and finally reaching the potential he had coming out of the draft.

And that’s stupid. This isn’t some breakout performance for Scheifele. This is him showing what he’s capable of, what he’s done so far in his career. Mark Scheifele is a damn good hockey player.

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In the past two seasons, he’s scored 142 points in 139 games. That’s eighth in the NHL over that span, going by PPG. Puts him right ahead of a guy called Blake Wheeler and right behind Ryan Getzlaf. Connor McDavid, Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos are the other names above him.

That’s elite territory. Top 10 NHL player territory. That being said, I don’t think it’s outrageous at all to call Mark Scheifele one of the top 10 centers in the NHL right now. On talent and on production.

Winnipeg Jets fans should realize this. The NHL Playoffs weren’t his coming out party, they were just a stage big enough to showcase his abilities. Blake Wheeler is the captain, Patrik Laine is the big sniper, but Mark Scheifele is the Jets’ best player.

He would be my pick for captain in the future, should something befall Blake Wheeler (trade, weight gain, retired to pursue country music career). You win championships in the NHL with talent up the middle.

Scheifele wasn’t the reason the Jets didn’t win. His supporting cast wasn’t playing up to its talent. He was a stud, through and through. Hey, maybe those 22 games he missed due to injury paid off, and gave him the rest he needed.

Look, 60 points in 60 games is a real good sign. His Corsi% was over 50% and, for the first time in his career, his faceoff percentage was too. That’s all you need to know. Scheifele is a well-rounded center.

Next: Season Review: The Captain

But it isn’t the Corsi% and faceoff numbers aren’t what excite fans. The point per game and playoff heroics are. Look for Schiefele to crack 30 goals, maybe even touch 40,  and push 100 points. There’s no reason the 25 year old shouldn’t be getting better, and he’ll gain more notoriety around the league for his showing on the big stage. God bless Mark Scheifele.

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