Fueled by Olympic aspirations, Scheifele ignites the ice, dominating NHL scoring and propelling himself into award contention.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are on the horizon with more than a few players looking to make up for not making their countries rosters during the Four Nations Face-Off this past Febuary. The most notable person on this list has to be Winnipeg Jets center Mark Schefiele, who was vocal about wanting to make Team Canada for the Olympics and was ready to put in the work to prove he has what it takes.
This season, Scheifele is off to the best start of his career, recording nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 11 games, surpassing his previous October high of 13 points, which he achieved last season and in 2019-20. Through the first month, few players in the NHL have matched his production, as he ranks second in league scoring behind Vegas’ Jack Eichel (19 points) and ahead of stars like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, and David Pastrnak. Since the conclusion of the Four Nations Face-Off, Scheifele sits 14th in league scoring with 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points, one point behind McDavid and Mitch Marner, and two points behind Eichel, Cale Makar, and William Nylander.
His recent surge has put him in the conversation for major awards, including the Art Ross, if he maintains this level of production. The overall offense of the Jets hasn't been clicking to the level it was a year ago when they took home the President's trophy as the league's best team during the regular season.
Winnipeg is still among the best teams in the league with an 8-3-0 record but their defense has taken a mild step back with the injury to Dylan Samberg as they rank top six in the league still however their offense is being upheld by Scheifele and his top line with Gabe Vilardi and superstar winger Kyle Connor.
The trio are responsible for 19 of Winnipeg's 40 goals this season, with the line contributing a goal in ten of their 11 games this season with the only game without being the Jets' 3-0 shutout loss to the Seattle Kraken. The line is deadly lethal but the rest of the team will need to help contribute more if Scheifele's unit is carrying half of the team's offensive load.
Jets List Veteran Winger As Day-To-Day Ahead Of Penguins Matchup
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