Scheifele feeling fortunate after taking blast to side of head

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This article was published 11/01/2024 (635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mark Scheifele couldn’t help it.

The Winnipeg Jets centre had a number of thoughts bouncing around in his head after a deflected puck caught him near the top of his right ear during the third period of Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

One of those things was the shot former teammate Bryan Little took in a game against the New Jersey Devils in November 2019.

“For sure it did,” Scheifele said Thursday. “A lot of thoughts went through my brain. It hits you… it obviously hurt and (I) just didn’t know what happened. So, you’re kind of in a little bit of shock and then you kind of come with it and, ‘OK, I’m probably cut, so let’s just get off the ice and get it looked at.’ When I started actually breathing, realizing I was all good, it was just my ear, then I realized I was all good and settled down.

“I’m just thankful the trainers, the doctors, they did everything to make sure I was OK… did all the necessary tests to make sure everything was all good. Obviously, very thankful to them but definitely a lot of scary moments, scary thoughts, anxiety creeps in a little bit and you need someone there to calm you down, and they did a really good job with that.”

Unfortunately for Little, the injury ended the longtime Winnipeg centre’s NHL career.

Scheifele was fortunate he only needed several stitches and was able to emerge from the locker room to celebrate a 5-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets with his teammates after the final buzzer.

“I don’t think it was as much about the crowd, it was more celebrating with the boys,” said Scheifele. “I think I just got finished getting stitched up, there was probably a minute left on the clock and I asked the trainers if I could go out there. It was more about celebrating with the guys and obviously it was nice to not have to have everyone answer questions about it afterwards. So, it was a win-win situation.”

At least for the interim, Scheifele has added ear protection to his helmet and wore it against the Chicago Blackhawks.

There’s no doubt the talented veteran has been a driving force in the team’s success, playing an inspired two-way game that has him leading the Jets in points.

“I’ve seen it before. There’s no question about it. Mark cares so deeply about this team and this town. And he’s shown it. He’s stepped up in those regards,” said Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. “I saw how emotional he was when he got a chance to speak at the (Dale) Hawerchuk statue unveiling and those are genuine things. He’s a real caring person. I talked to him when we were naming Adam (Lowry) captain. You can tell the emotions and the different things, the pride that is there with respect to this team.”

Getting Scheifele and goalie Connor Hellebuyck signed to identical contract extensions prior to the season beginning eliminated any doubt about the future of two critical core pieces.

“Going through the contract negotiations, you could tell this is where he wanted to be, this is where he wanted to get it done,” said Cheveldayoff. “But at the end of the day, these guys want to win. If you can point players and show them success or show them a path to success and get them to believe, that’s where you can achieve greater things. That’s where I think Mark’s headspace is at right now. He’s always loved this group. He’s always loved these players. And, hopefully, these guys can see that maybe there’s a chance to do something good here.”

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Heinola assigned: The Jets are assigning defenceman Ville Heinola to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Heinola had an excellent training camp, prompting Jets head coach Rick Bowness to say recently that he would have been in the opening-night lineup against the Calgary Flames, but he was sidelined with a fractured ankle and missed the first 40 games of the NHL season.

Cheveldayoff said Heinola has full medical clearance to return to game action, though there’s no timeline for his return.

Since Heinola is exempt from waivers, this is not a situation where he can only spend up to two weeks in the AHL on a conditioning assignment, as is the case with forward Rasmus Kupari. Kupari suited up for the Moose against the host Belleville Senators on Wednesday night in what was his first game action since Nov. 14.

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Praise for prospects: Cheveldayoff made his way to Gothenburg, Sweden for live viewings of Jets prospects Rutger McGroarty, Elias Salomonsson and Fabian Wagner at the recent world junior hockey championship.

The trio of players had a solid showing, with McGroarty captaining the United States to a gold medal over Sweden, which got important contributions from Salomonsson and Wagner throughout the event.

McGroarty, who suffered a punctured lung earlier this season, finished the event with five goals and nine points while playing a prominent role on the top line.

“Very happy for Rutger. I reached out to him when he was named captain. Obviously, with the U.S. team, that’s a very special thing. It was even more special for him because of what he had to go through going into that (tournament),” said Cheveldayoff. “I’m proud that he’s part of our organization and that he led that team to a world junior championship.”

Salomonsson, who was an alternate captain, had a tough start to the event after he was called for a boarding major in the opening minute of Sweden’s first game. After serving his one-game suspension, he returned to play top pairing minutes and played a strong, two-way game, chipping in one assist in six games.

“It was was awesome to see (Elias) Salomonsson being healthy this year because last year, that’s what kept him out of the tournament. To see how he’s grown from training camp to now was great,” said Cheveldayoff. “His development path has served (him) very well this year, with respect to how he’s being utilized over in Europe and with his team and the role he played in the world juniors was a good one.

Wagner was used primarily in a checking-line role and had no points in seven games.

“He was a veteran in that tournament. A very responsible player, that’s the role that they ask him to play and he excelled,” said Cheveldayoff, noting it was unfortunate a back injury prevented Colby Barlow from potentially suiting up for Canada at the tournament.

McGroarty has returned his focus to chasing an NCAA Frozen Four title with the University of Michigan Wolverines, while Salomonsson (Skelleftea AIK) and Wagner (Linkopings HC) are back with their respective club teams in the Swedish Hockey League.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld