Looking ahead to the start of the 2021 season, how will Winnipeg Jets star forward, Mark Scheifele, perform in the shortened season?
The Winnipeg Jets are graced with having one of the best centers in the National Hockey League within their ranks. That great player is the Winnipeg Jets, former 2011 seventh overall draft pick, Mark Schiefele.
In fact, the NHL Network even rated Schiefele as the 12th best center in the league and the 27th best player in the NHL right now. All the hype around Scheifele is warranted. He is a player that can change a game at a moment’s notice and every single franchise would love to have him on their team.
It has been extremely fun to watch Scheifele since he made the jump from the Barrie Colts, in the Ontario Hockey League, to the Winnipeg Jets. The now twenty-seven-year-old played his first full season with the Jets back in 2013-2014 and put up respectable numbers as a rookie.
Winnipeg Jets
In 63 games with Winnipeg, Scheifele had 13 goals, 21 assists, and +9 plus/minus. Since that first year, Scheifele’s game has gotten better each season that passes.
Since the start of the 2016-2017 campaign, Schiefele is better than a point per game player. In all of those seasons, he has had more than 20 goals and 35 assists. His best statistical season was in 2018-2019, where he scored 38 goals and had 46 assists.
Last year, the Jets assistant captain, had 29 goals, 44 assists, and a +2 plus/minus in 71 contests and was tied for the team lead in points with Kyle Connor. Scheifele made his second career All-Star Game when he represented the Jets and the Central Division, alongside Connor Hellebuyck, at the 2020 ASG in St. Louis.
Unfortunately in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, Scheifele suffered an injury in game one against the Calgary Flames. Scheifele was ruled out the rest of the series and the Jets could not handle the Flames and they were ultimately eliminated by Calgary in four games in a best-of-five series. The great news is Scheifele has made a full recovery and is ready to go for the upcoming season.
Looking ahead, there is no sign of Scheifele slowing down in 2021. I think we will see the best of Scheifele in 2021 after he suffered that injury in last year’s postseason and he will show that he is one of the best players in the league.
I do believe Scheifele will stay on his point per game trend and will have 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points in 2021.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: How many points will Mark Scheifele have in 2021? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*