Stats just one indication of Scheifele’s maturity

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This article was published 11/10/2015 (3646 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK — He’s still rattles off every team-first cliche imaginable in each interview. And he most certainly hasn’t lost that ‘so-cool-to-be-in-the-National-Hockey-League’ twinkle in his eyes.

So, don’t let the little starter-goatee he’s working on fool you: everything about Mark Scheifele that endeared him to Winnipeg Jets fans from the very first moment his name was called out at the 2011 NHL Draft — that boyish enthusiasm and burning passion for the game — still oozes from his every pore.

And yet, even with all that there has been an obvious maturity to Scheifele’s game since he was first introduced to Jets Nation, and it’s represented by more than just the two goals he’s potted through two wins.

What kind of growth have we seen?

“How about everything?” said Jets coach Paul Maurice after Sunday’s session at the New Jersey Devils practice facility. “He’s stronger, he’s faster, each year he’s gotten rid of — and this isn’t the right word — the ‘amateur’ in his game. Those guys, all of them, and this is true of Nik Ehlers, Nic Petan, all of these high-end skilled guys coming from junior have what we would call kind of ‘shark’ in their game.

“They played so many big minutes that they play at a certain pace and they have to. They’re smart enough that they can and they’re opportunistic. But you don’t get to play at that pace here. That started to come out of his game about halfway through last season. I think spending a year (playing) with Blake Wheeler really helped him because Blake plays at such a high tempo and a high pace. Call it turning pro. Just all parts of his game have gotten faster.”

Maurice explained the ‘shark’ reference this way: skilled players in junior circle for long stretches and then strike when they see offensive chances. But that also means there is an element of coasting to their game, particularly when their shifts are 90 seconds to two minutes long.

There has still been some shark in Scheifele’s game — good shark — in his ability to bite into and finish his chances. This while Maurice has rolled four lines and cut into some ice time for his forward crews. Scheifele has averaged 14:!6 through the first two games, lower than any total in any game in all of last season.

And yet, in addition to the two goals, his name is appearing all over the stats sheet from hits, takeaways and his work in the face-off circle.

And maybe that, too, speaks of the maturation of his game.

Cue the team-first commentary…

“Obviously it’s nice to score goals and everything, but it’s all about the team,” Scheifele said. “Its all about getting better as a team each and every game and that’s what we want to build on. It’s still early in the season, we still have a lot of work to do and that’s the goal.

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“I don’t know the exact number (of goal posts he’s hit in years past). I always say once you stop getting the chances that’s when you start getting worried. I just want to continue to play my game. I don’t want to focus on goals, assists or anything like that. I just want to continue to build. It’s early in the season, I just want to continue to get better and better every day and help the team win in whatever way I can.

“If it means scoring, it means scoring. If it means blocking a shot, taking a hit, making a hit that’s what I want to do. If they’re going in, they’re going in and I’ll be happy. But as long as we’re winning that’s the biggest thing.

“It’s all about staying confident,” added Scheifele. “Obviously when I was younger and I wasn’t scoring, when I was in the O and I wasn’t scoring I’d be a little frustrated. But it’s all about the team. That’s what I’ve learned. As long as you’re working your hardest on each and every shift and giving your team a chance to win… that’s the biggest thing.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait