WINNIEPG, Manitoba – It’s official, Mark Scheifele is a Winnipeg Jet, well at least for now. Winnipeg’s first round draft pick, seventh overall, has put his name on the dotted line on a three-year entry level deal.
Scheifele has been dubbed “The Second Coming of Dale Hawerchuk” who was of course, the original Winnipeg Jets first round pick who became the face of the franchise, and his number now hangs in the rafters of the MTS Centre.
Interesting enough is Hawerchuk was Scheifele’s Head Coach in Barrie where he was a member of the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League.
It’s no secret that Scheifele has been turning heads since Minnesota (NHL Draft Day) when he was slotted to go 24th overall by NHL Central Scouting, however the Jets surprised everyone when they called his name in the 7th spot.
The Jets/Thrashers scouts must have seen something that central scouting didn’t and the Jets have benefited ever since.
Scheifele has played one year in juniors but he did some damage in 66 games with the Colts where tapped in 22 goals along with 52 assists for 75 points.
So far as a Winnipeg Jet Scheifele has potted 4 goals with 4 assists in 9 games, he didn’t give the Jets brass much of a choice with his talent and performance.
According to a source the deal is worth $925,000 as a base salary, for three years, however, Scheifele stands to make an extra $700,000 in performance bonuses making him a cap hit of $1.6 Million per year.
Here are the unanswered questions, every rookie who is signed can still be sent down to juniors within the first nine games of the season if he does not perform to expectations. It has happened in the past to great players including Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators.
If Scheifele hits the 10-game point, he cannot be sent to juniors however he can still be send to St John’s for conditioning. Another key part of the deal is this if he hits the 10-game mark it counts as a full year of service bringing his RFA status one year closer.
Another issue to ponder, Scheifele was invited to Team Canada development camps for the World Under-20 Championships in Alberta and was again invited to the main camp just before Christmas. The Jets have the right to deny him the leave of absence needed to join Team Canada for the Junior tournament. Chances are the Jets may loan him to Team Canada because the tournament is on home soil.
Scheifele has arrived and will be a force for sure in the National Hockey League for years to come, He is expected to be in the Jets lineup on October 9th when the Montreal Canadiens come to town.
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