Mark Scheifele

[URIS id=2456]

Mark Scheifele (born March 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Jets in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Jets’ first draft pick after relocating from Atlanta.

Scheifele is a Sport Ambassador for KidSport Winnipeg, a charity that aims to remove the financial barriers to playing sports, and runs an annual hockey camp for boys and girls on behalf of KidSport Winnipeg.^[1]

Playing career

Amateur

Scheifele grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, playing for the Kitchener Jr. Rangers rep program in the Alliance Pavilion League. After his minor midget season in 2008–09, Scheifele was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)’s Saginaw Spirit in the seventh round, 134th overall, of the 2009 OHL Priority Selection.^{[citation needed]}

Scheifele (centre foreground) with the Colts in November 2012

The following season, Scheifele was assigned to his hometown Kitchener Dutchmen Jr.B. club for a year of seasoning in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (OHA). After the 2009–10 season, on August 16, 2010, Scheifele’s playing rights were traded by the Spirit (along with a second round choice in 2013) to the Barrie Colts in exchange for goalie Mavric Parks. Two weeks later, Scheifele signed with the Colts for the 2010–11 season.^{[citation needed]}

In TSN mid-season prospects’ ranking ahead of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft published in January 2011, Scheifele was projected to be drafted 21st overall.^[2] Ultimately, he was selected seventh overall by the Winnipeg Jets, the organization’s first draft pick since relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta.^[3]^[4]

Professional

During pre-season to the 2011–12 season, in Scheifele’s first NHL exhibition game, he scored two goals and two assists in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, garnering the first star.^[5] On October 3, 2011, the Jets announced that they had signed Scheifele to an entry-level contract,^[6] and that he would start the season on Winnipeg’s NHL roster. He scored his first NHL goal on October 19, 2011, against James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs. On October 23, he was sent back to the OHL and rejoined the Barrie Colts. After the Colts were eliminated from the OHL playoff race, he changed his number from 45 to 55 and was called-up by the Jets to play for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps for the 2012 Calder Cup playoffs.

Scheifele participated in the Jets’ training camp ahead of the 2012–13 season, and played with the team, however he was eventually sent back down to Barrie.^[7]

For the 2013–14 season, Scheifele played in all 60 of Winnipeg’s regular season games up to the NHL break for the 2014 Winter Olympics.^[8] During the season, he cemented his role as a top-six forward centering the Jets’ second line, emerging as a top candidate for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.^[9]^[10]^[11] However, on March 4, 2014, in a game against the New York Islanders, Scheifele suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season.^[12]

During the 2015–16 season, Scheifele surpassed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his professional career, scoring his first NHL hat-trick in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 5, 2016.^[13]

International play

Medal record
Scheifele as a member of Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championships
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2016 Russia
	2017 Germany/France
World Junior Championships
	2012 Canada

Scheifele participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Calgary and Edmonton, winning the bronze medal with Canada.^[14] He also participated in the 2013 edition of the tournament, held in Ufa, Russia.^[15]

Scheifele played for the senior Canadian team at the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk,^[16] as well as the 2016 edition of the tournament held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, where he won gold. Scheifele also represented Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, playing on the top line alongside Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008–09	Kitchener Jr. Rangers	ALLIANCE	31	20	19	39	16	9	5	8	13	2
2009–10	Kitchener Dutchmen	GOJHL	51	18	37	55	20	5	0	3	3	6
2010–11	Barrie Colts	OHL	66	22	53	75	35	—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	7	1	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Barrie Colts	OHL	47	23	40	63	36	13	5	7	12	12
2011–12	St. John’s IceCaps	AHL	—	—	—	—	—	10	0	1	1	2
2012–13	Barrie Colts	OHL	45	39	40	79	30	21	15	26	41	14
2012–13	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	4	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	63	13	21	34	14	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	82	15	34	49	24	4	0	1	1	4
2015–16	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	71	29	32	61	48	—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	79	32	50	82	38	—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	60	23	37	60	18	17	14	6	20	10
2018–19	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	82	38	46	84	38	6	2	3	5	8
2019–20	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	71	29	44	73	45	1	0	0	0	0
NHL totals			519	180	264	444	225	28	16	10	26	22

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Canada	WJC18	4th	7	6	2	8	1
2012	Canada	WJC		6	3	3	6	0
2012	Canada	CAN-RUS		4	0	4	4	7
2013	Canada	WJC	4th	6	5	3	8	2
2014	Canada	WC	5th	8	2	2	4	0
2016	Canada	WC		9	4	5	9	0
2016	Team North America	WCH	5th	3	0	1	1	2
2017	Canada	WC		10	3	5	8	8
Junior totals				17	9	9	18	8
Senior totals				30	9	13	22	10