And yet, none of it was enough to get the Jets into the playoffs.
“In this life, you can’t look at that as a wasted opportunity. Obviously, I wish we were in the playoffs at the end of the day. That’s where the main focus is,” said Scheifele.
“I wish we were getting ready for the playoffs right now and obviously, I’m happy with my year and I just wish we could still be playing and getting ready for a playoff series right now.”
Plenty of teams would love to build around a core featuring Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabriel Vilardi, Josh Morrissey, and Connor Hellebuyck.
Add in the continued growth of Cole Perfetti, the leadership of Adam Lowry, and the steady presence of Dylan Samberg, and there’s a strong foundation in place—one that gives the 33-year-old plenty of reason for optimism moving forward.
“We have some really great core pieces, and we have a team that hasn’t changed much from last year and obviously stumbled this year,” said Scheifele.
“I have faith in this group, and I have faith in the guys in this room. I’m very, very lucky to play with so many of these guys.”
While the Winnipeg Jets were one of the older teams in the league this season, injuries opened the door for the next wave—giving prospects like Elias Salomonsson, Brad Lambert, Danny Zhilkin, Nikita Chibrikov, and Brayden Yager valuable experience that could pay off moving forward.
“Yeah, it's been exciting, getting some young guys into the lineup and seeing what they’ve got, I think is great. And obviously, was awesome to see Yags play. He played in his first NHL game, obviously, wish it was under different circumstances, opposed to kind of the end of the year, when we're out of it,” said Scheifele.
“So, obviously, just super proud of those guys for coming in and giving it their all and working their hardest. And just excited to see what more they can bring come next year and how much they improve and how much they work on their game. And very excited for that.”
Scheifele also became the student this season with the addition of future Hall-of-Famer Jonathan Toews. There was no definitive answer from Toews if he is going to continue his NHL career on Friday, but Scheifele hopes that the local product will be back.
“I hope he keeps playing, I think he was fantastic for us. And coming back from being off for two years playing every single game, 82 games, that's not an easy thing to do, and not many people do it in a season,” said Scheifele.
“And, that's pretty incredible. Just to see the work that he's put in, the diligence that he has every day to be at his best. And I've loved having him around. He's been a great friend to me.”
One low point in the season for Scheifele came on December 31, when Hockey Canada named their roster for the 2026 Olympics and the Kitchener native was once again passed over. But on Friday, Scheifele confirmed that he will be wearing the maple leaf when the World Hockey Championships get underway in Switzerland next month.
“I’m really excited for it. Any chance you have the opportunity to go and compete for your country, you’ve got to take it with honour and I’m just excited to play more hockey,” said Scheifele who last played for Canada at the 2017 Worlds.
“I love this game, I love playing, I love competing. I want to go over there and win a gold medal and do that with some good friends, so I’m really excited for that opportunity.”
