Mark Scheifele Continues to Spite Doug Armstrong, Scores Hat Trick for Canada at Worlds

It wasn't long ago that Mark Scheifele was the talk of the hockey world.

Well, to be fair, he is still the talk of the hockey world - at least in Manitoba. And for the time being, Switzerland.

Oh, and at the residence of Doug Armstrong. And quite possibly that of Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby.

Why, you ask? 

Because - for reasons unknown - he was left off the Canadian National Team for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. At the time of the Olympics, Scheifele was first among all Canadian-based teams in point scoring, while sitting fifth in the league with 68 points, behind just Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, MacKinnon and Celebrini.

Yet, somehow, Armstrong - the brilliant mastermind behind the assembly of Team Canada - did not feel Scheifele's contributions were significant enough to warrant a spot on his team's roster. 

And this is right around the place where the logic begins to fall apart.

For months, Hockey Canada spoke about building a roster based on versatility, experience, hockey IQ and reliability in all situations. Scheifele checks every one of those boxes. He has spent the better part of a decade producing at an elite level while handling heavy minutes, difficult matchups and the pressure that comes with carrying a Canadian market.

Apparently, though, that still was not enough.

Instead, Canada chose to prioritize familiarity and reputation over one of the league's most productive offensive players. It was a curious decision then and it surelooks even worse now.

Because this was never about whether Scheifele belonged among Canada's elite players. Statistically, he already was.

The only mystery was why management simply refused to acknowledge it. He wasn't even an injury replacement when already selected players were unable to head to Italy due to injury.

Perhaps playing in Winnipeg still comes with a certain invisibility on the national stage.

Perhaps Scheifele simply lacks the spotlight that follows players in Toronto or Montreal.

Or perhaps Team Canada management convinced itself it needed "role players" instead of one of the NHL's most intelligent offensive centres.

Whatever the explanation may be, Scheifele has spent the months since responding the only way elite players can: by producing.

He concluded the 2025-26 season with 36 goals and a career-high 103 points in his full 82 games played, which included nine goals, 35 points and 13 multi-point outings following the Olympic break.

And on Thursday at the IIHF World Championship - after somehow accepting Hockey Canada's offer to join the team at the Worlds - Scheifele delivered the kind of performance that only added fuel to the Olympic debate. More specifically, Scheifele filled his jerrycan with potent 94 octane and doused the argument time and time again - by way of a three-goal, four-point, hat-trick, overtime-winning effort.

"It was a wild game, but it felt good playing with Mac," Scheifele said post-game. "He's a pretty special player, so you just try to get open as much as possible, and he's going to find you. It was great resilience by all of us."

Battling Norway in round robin play, the Jets star almost single-handedly dragged Canada to victory while looking every bit like the elite difference-maker Hockey Canada somehow deemed expendable just months earlier.

Then came overtime.

With the game hanging in the balance, it was Scheifele who heard his name called again. Because, of course it was.

After tormenting Norway throughout the afternoon, Scheifele completed the hat trick in dramatic fashion with the overtime winner just 29 seconds into the extra frame - delivering Canada another uncomfortable reminder of what it chose to leave behind in Italy.

Which led to the question: how exactly was this player not good enough to do so in Milano Cortina? Not to name names, but Scheifele likely would not have missed the open net that MacKinnon flubbed...

His performance on Thursday is a key part of what makes the omission so difficult to justify in hindsight.

Scheifele is not simply a complementary scorer feasting on power-play touches. He drives play. He creates offence. He elevates linemates. Players like Crosby, MacKinnon and Celebrini are precisely the type of stars who benefit from having another elite offensive mind alongside them.

Instead, Team Canada watched from afar while Scheifele delivered one of the young tournament's defining performances wearing the same maple leaf he somehow was not trusted to wear at the Olympics.

Sure, he'd much rather prefer to see his Jets facing MacKinnon and the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final than squaring off for the Canadians in Switzerland, Scheifele certainly does cherish his first opportunity to wear the maple leaf since 2017. And he will get at least three more games of round robin play before the playoff round begins - should Canada's record give it a chance to play for a medal.

Whether Hockey Canada executives publicly admit it or not, performances like Thursday's are exactly why the criticism surrounding Scheifele's Olympic omission never disappeared. Every goal, every setup and every overtime moment only deepens the question management never properly answered in the first place.

How was one of Canada's most productive and intelligent offensive players not good enough?

Armstrong may never directly acknowledge the mistake, but the fallout from Canada's silver medal finish — combined with Scheifele's continued dominance afterward — speaks loudly enough on its own. Not long after the Olympic disappointment, Armstrong stepped away from his role with Hockey Canada altogether.

Coincidence or not, Scheifele made sure everyone remembered his name on the way out.