For those looking to watch playoff teams over the last week and a half, watching the Winnipeg Jets is probably not on your schedule (Although they are playing Minnesota, a team looking to lock up a playoff spot, on Sunday). If you are looking for an NHL star in the making, however, it may be the time to give the Jets a peak.
That is because the Jets have 23-year-old center Mark Scheifele, and he has become the centerpiece in Winnipeg offense during the second half of the season.
Scheifele has been excellent for the Jets this season, with 26 goals and 27 assists. He was one of the hottest players in the league to begin the season, scoring a goal in his first three games at Boston, New Jersey and New York (Brooklyn).
After battling injuries in January, he has come back to life over the past month. Part of that may be due to Bryan Little being out with a fractured vertebrae and Andrew Ladd being traded to Chicago on February 25, but Scheifele has been a hot prospect for a long time. He is beginning to show what all the hype it about.
He had a three-game stretch earlier in March when he was one of the hottest players in the league. In home games against the Islanders, Canadiens, and Oilers, Scheifele had six goals, including two go-ahead goals late in the third period on New York and Montreal. He also got his first career hat trick against the Habs.
Thankfully for Winnipeg, Scheifele has maintained his hard play even after that span. After Ladd was traded, he had a goal and three assists to help down Dallas in Texas. The three games where he had six goals were in the middle of an eight-game point streak, which included eight goals (he also scored in wins over Colorado and Vancouver) and four assists. After being held pointless in three games, he has started another long point streak. After scoring Winnipeg’s only goal against Ottawa on Wednesday, Scheifele’s streak has now reached five, with three goals and four assists.
In total, Scheifele now has 11 goals and eight assists in March alone. If he can score three more goals before the season ends, he will have officially doubled his career goal total. He had 29 goals in what has spanned five seasons (He only played 11 games in his first two seasons from 2011-2013).
Considering his ability to take over games at any point, he is certainly one of the more intriguing players to watch at the end of this season and beyond. His performances will be crucial to building the Jets into a playoff contender again.