Scheifele eager to play on penalty kill

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This article was published 01/10/2024 (369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mark Scheifele doesn’t really remember the set of circumstances surrounding his removal from the penalty kill during the Paul Maurice era.

So when Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel brought up the possibility of returning to the ice while shorthanded during a conversation this offseason, Scheifele was more than happy to accept the challenge.

“I don’t even know when it actually happened,” said Scheifele, who has been added to the regular rotation with linemate Kyle Connor, with Nikolaj Ehlers an option to join them. “It’s a big opportunity and time to bail a guy out that got a penalty.”

Scheifele is quick to admit when you’re not among the penalty killers, it can be tough to stay in flow of the game when your team takes multiple minors during a period.

“If it’s a big penalty game, when (the team is) on a lot of kills, you can kind of get out of rhythm,” said Scheifele. “So I think by getting out there, penalty kill shifts aren’t typically super long unless you get hemmed in your own end, but it’s just a matter of staying in the rhythm of things. It keeps you wired in the right way, I think. So, I’m excited to kind of get that going.”

Scheifele’s experience on the power play is something he can draw upon when trying to shut down the man-advantage.

“You definitely pick up some things,” said Scheifele. “As a power-play guy, you kind of know what the other team is trying to accomplish. So, you have kind of an idea of what their routes might be, what their options might be, and being able to jump on that opportunity. So it’s going to be a work in progress, but I’m just excited to get going.”

The scare

When Ehlers went down to the ice in the right-wing corner with what appeared to be a non-contact injury midway through Tuesday’s on-ice session, there was a hush in the air.

Ehlers had made a tight turn but there was no body contact on the play, which prompted some additional concern until he made his way to his feet and left the ice under his own power after a discussion with assistant athletic therapist Brad Shaw.

The Jets were simply changing rinks and Ehlers completed the session after having his skate blade looked at.

“I didn’t even see it because I was talking to one of the guys about one of the plays (from) earlier,” said Arniel. “He just got a little bit spooked on (the play). He kind of hit skates with (Scheifele) and kind of tweaked himself a bit. But I think he’s fine.”

There were times during the skate when Ehlers looked a tad uncomfortable and didn’t have his most explosive bursts, but the good news was the injury doesn’t appear to be something that’s going to sideline him.

The Jets have already lost a pair of defencemen, Ville Heinola (ankle) and Logan Stanley (knee) to injuries for at least a month and losing a top-six forward would have added to the early challenge.

Arniel was looking on the bright side Tuesday, noting the timing of the injuries to Heinola and Stanley means their recovery period was already starting before the regular season was underway.

Numbers game

Arniel was asked if the injuries to Stanley and Heinola might impact the Jets original plan to break camp with a 22-man roster instead of going with the maximum of 23.

That was something Arniel brought up after the first day of on-ice sessions, noting the economic benefits of accruing additional cap space over the course of the season by leaving one of the roster spots open.

With the Jets defensive depth already being tested, they might be reluctant to expose a forward to waivers before the opening-day roster is due on Sunday for fear of that player being claimed.

Despite that consideration, Arniel maintains the Jets aren’t abandoning the idea of a 22-man roster permanently.

“We’re going to have to see and play this out here. We’d like to get to that, whether that’s Game 1 or if that’s Game 10 or whatever we get to,” said Arniel. “We’ve got to see where all of our injured guys are, moving down the road here. Obviously, waivers and all of that will play into it.”

Temperatures rising

Arniel has challenged his players to raise their compete level since training camp began and they’ve responded accordingly.

On Tuesday, that meant Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey catching Cole Perfetti with a check in front of the net after he was on the receiving end of a slash earlier in the drill.

“I’m not big on fighting in practice or any of that stuff,” said Arniel. “My biggest thing is when you get one-on-one with someone that your will prevails over theirs and I’ve been preaching that from Day 1. Sometimes the temperatures go up a bit, like they did there. But they’re two guys walking down the hallway and hugging each other afterwards.”

 

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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