Mark Scheifele

At 31 years old, Mark Scheifele has this physical status:

Playing career

Scheifele grew up playing minor hockey in Kitchener, Ontario, where he played for the Kitchener Jr. Rangers rep program in the Alliance Pavilion League. Scheifele began as a defensive guard before being moved to a forward position. Scheifele said he wore the number 55 because he wanted to be like his older brother Kyle while playing minor hockey. He attended Grand River Collegiate Institute for high school, where he competed in volleyball, basketball, badminton, and track and field. Scheifele first began focusing on hockey when he was 16 years old. Scheifele was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Saginaw Spirit in the seventh round of the 2009 OHL Priority Selection, following his minor midget season in 2008–09. However, he failed to make their roster and was sent to his hometown Kitchener Dutchmen Jr.B. (OHA): This year will be the club's first season in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. During his time with the Dutchmen, he began to be noticed by universities and were given NCAA scholarships. Despite committing to play for the Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey team, he decided not to participate in the OHL.

Scheifele's playing rights were sold by the Spirit (long with a second-round pick in 2013) to the Barrie Colts in exchange for goaltender Mavric Parks following the 2009–10 season. Scheifele received the OHL Central Division Academic Award for the month of October and finished second on the team in scoring during his rookie season with the Colts. He was then invited to the 2010 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the WFCU Centre. Scheifele was ranked 19th overall amongst OHL prospects and 16th among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau before the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He was selected seventh overall by the Winnipeg Jets, the organization's first draft pick since moving to Winnipeg from Atlanta.

Scheifele attended the Winnipeg Jets training camp before the 2011-12 season and participated in their exhibition games. Since Jim Slater's favorite number 19 was taken by Jim Slater, he also announced that he would wear the jersey number 55. In an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he scored two goals and two assists, earning the first appearance during the pre-season. The Jets reported on October 3, 2011 that Scheifele had signed to an entry-level deal and that he would begin the season on Winnipeg's NHL roster. Scheifele made his NHL debut on October 6, 2011, beating Toronto Maple Leafs James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs in his first NHL goal. He was re-assigned to the OHL and rejoined the Barrie Colts to continue his growth after playing in seven games.

Following the Colts' dismissal from the OHL playoff season, he was called up by the Jets to play for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps, in the 2012 Calder Cup playoffs. He was named an assistant captain on the Colts in September, alongside Alex Lepkowski and Steven Beyers, as well as Alex Lepkowski and Steven Beyers. Scheifele attended the Jets' training camp ahead of the 2012–13 season, and was on four games with the team before being sent back to the Colts. Scheifele played for the Colts for the remainder of the season, scoring 79 points in 45 regular season games. He scored 39 points in 19 games, including four goals against the London Knights in Game 4 to virtually qualify for the Memorial Cup. However, Scheifele was bodychecked by the London Knights' Josh Anderson during the following game and was unable to participate in Game 7.

Scheifele appeared in all 60 of Winnipeg's regular season games up to the NHL break for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Scheifele played his role as a top-six forward centering the Jets' second line during the season, but the Jets' second line's game against the New York Islanders on March 4, 2014, he sustained a knee injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season. He recovered during the offseason and was medically cleared to play for the Jets' training camp and the 2014-15 season. During the season, he appeared in all 82 games and gained 49 points in 81 games. Scheifele continued to exercise his muscle mass through the 2014–15 offseason, and he arrived at the Jets' training camp 11 pounds (5.0 kg) heavier than the previous season.

Scheifele was drafted on the second-line center position with Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Persuader before the 2015-16 season, and stayed there for the majority of the season. He had four goals and four assists in November and won 44% of his face offs. Despite suffering from a head injury in December, he surpassed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. Scheifele was promoted to the Jets' top line after Bryan Little fractured a vertebra in nine games, where he scored eight goals and 13 points in nine games. He scored his first NHL hat-trick in a match against the Montreal Canadiens on March 5, 2016, snapping the team's three-game losing streak. Scheifele, who scored 61 points in 71 games during the regular season, was the Jets' designated for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. Scheifele signed an eight-year, $49 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets to keep the team intact after it was cut off. Dustin Byfuglien remained on the team, which was one of his reasons for his resignation.

Scheifele was named an assistant captain for the 2016–17 season, alongside Byfuglien and captain Blake Wheeler following their signing of his contract. "Mark Scheifele is going to be the captain of this hockey team at some point in his career for sure," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. Blake Wheeler, the current captain, had two years left in his service at the time. Scheifele led the Jets in scoring and finished seventh in the league with 82 points in 79 games. Scheifele said after his break-out season, the team was put more pressure on him to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs after losing it for the first two years. Scheifele played 60 points in 60 games despite missing 22 due to injuries in the 2017-18 season, despite high hopes going into the 2017-18 season. Scheifele set a new NHL record for most road goals in a postseason during the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. He had scored 14 goals in total by the time he appeared against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3. Joe Mullen and Sidney Crosby, who scored ten times on the road during Stanley Cup runs for the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins respectively, set the previous record. During the previous two seasons, Scheifele tied Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin for the most NHL goals in road playoff goals.

Scheifele recruited a personal chef and visited Tom Brady's former chef Allen Campbell to "discuss food theory and write up a meal plan" in an attempt to sustain his scoring prowess. Gary Roberts, a former NHL player, was influenced by him to change up his diet, which included avoiding gluten and dairy. During the summer, he trained with teammate Blake Wheeler to develop chemistry. Scheifele arrived at the Jets' training camp prior to the 2018-19 season, calling the Jets "a powerhouse in the West." Scheifele set new career highs in goals, assists, and points during the 2018-19 season. After a five-game point streak and aiming for tenth among the league's top ten points, he was dubbed NHL First Star of the Week in December. He was selected for his first NHL All-Star Game alongside Wheeler in the same month, despite being ranked 11th in the league for the first time. He was high sticked by Nashville Predators forward Ryan Johansen, who was suspended for two games on January 18, 2019. The Jets finished second in the Central Division but lost in their first round match against the St. Louis Blues, who went on to win their first Stanley Cup.

Scheifele rejoined the team for the 2019-20 season, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the team's revival was unexpectedly postponed. Scheifele and teammate Connor Hellebuyck were selected for the 2020 National Hockey League All-Star Game in honor of his efforts. At the time of his pick, he led the team in points, goals, and assists, and was ranked in the top-20 in goals. Scheifele donated $100,000 to Winnipeg Harvest Inc. to support members of the community after the league was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an attempt to close the 2019–20 season, he also served on the league's Return to Play (RTP) committee. Scheifele sustained an Achilles tendon injury while colliding with Flames forward Matthew Tkachukuk in the Western Conference seeding round-robin against the Calgary Flames. He then sat out the remainder of the playoffs, where the Jets were eliminated early, but said it did not hinder him with his off-season training. Scheifele said he had no ill will against Tkachuk and did not believe he meant to hurt him when speaking out about the incident. Scheifele returned to the Jets' lineup five months later to compete in the North Division.

Scheifele and the Jets defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. Scheifele was suspended four games for accusing Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans during Game 1.

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