OverDrive - Scheifele on the Jets' notable season, his approach on offense and becoming the franchise goals leader

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

Winnipeg Jets Forward Mark Scheifele joined OverDrive to discuss his impressive season with the Jets, the team's strength across the roster, Connor Hellebuyck's incredible season, becoming the franchise goal leader with the Jets, the gameday approach, representing the Colts and more.

Women run the charts, lead the conversation, and make history. This International Women's Day, iHeartRadio celebrates them all. Turn up the Women of the North playlist for iconic Canadian artists. Lock out with queens of every sound and take a trip with hits through herstory. Plus empowering podcasts by women for women. Stream now and celebrate the power of women everywhere with the free iHeartRadio app Here's Mark Shifely. How you doing mark? I'm good. How are you guys doing? We're doing very well. I mean we've enjoyed watching you and talking about you

What's it like to live it? You guys have had such a great season this year Yeah, it's been it's been a lot of fun. You know great group of guys. You know we've just kind of taken a game by game and obviously the last three haven't gone as planned but you know it's been it's been a really fun year you know a really fun group of guys so it's it's been a it's been a real real treat. Yeah and you guys had to transition a little bit bringing in a new head coach and you know Scott Arneal who's a guy that you were familiar with and you've been with it within the organization, but You know how much impact do you think he's had on on those positive vibes? You've had and the the wins that you guys have accumulated this year

Yeah, for sure. I think I think the nice thing was is that You know, obviously he was a part of our coaching staff So, you know, obviously had a lot of good relationships with them. Of course, Bones had to step away from the team for a little bit, so we had him as a head coach. It was a little bit of a seamless transition. Obviously, he's tweaked some things and changed some things and had a different voice than Bones was, but he's been great.

He's pushed us to try to be our best every single night and he's been awesome. So what's the level of comfort when you go into a game and you look back there and the goaltender standing there and plays every night and he plays that well? Hell, he is amazing. He is an absolute fantastic goaltender. He's been amazing all season.

Obviously, when you have that confidence with your goaltender, he's a goaltender. Eric Comrie plays a lot of back-to-backs, but he's been playing amazing for us too when he's in the pipe. Honestly, our goaltending in general has been incredible. We know the confidence that we have with our goaltenders, that they bring it every single night. And to have that confidence of the, have the confidence that your goaltenders are playing as well as they are is a huge boost to the team's confidence.

Shai, if we've talked about your team with the trade deadline coming up, where I guess when you've had a season like you have, you expected to be in the mix and your management team to kind of do whatever they can to supplement the group and have your best chance in the playoffs. Is there a danger of kind of wanting too much and other guys, it's, you know, obviously we've had a great year, we have a great group of guys and you kind of just put that into the management's hands and trust in their vision for the team and all you can do as players is just go and play and give it your all and try to win as many games as you can.

So you know, obviously we're very confident with our group of guys, confident in our team and our coaching staff and kind of guys, confident in our team and our, and our coaching staff and, and kind of whatever happens, happens. So we talk about you a lot. We talk about the goaltender a lot, but we, we talk about Kyle Connor a lot, but as being a very underrated,

underappreciated really superstar kind of hidden. Do you guys feel that way? I mean, do you feel that way? Do you feel like he gets enough love, you know, throughout Canada? I mean, there's so many top-tier players, but it feels like he slides through the the cracks a little bit. How do you feel about that? You know, with our group of guys, you know, he's definitely not underappreciated or overlooked. You know, we as a group know how good Casey is, and Casey is and me personally, I know what a

pleasure it is to play with him each and every night. He's absolutely fantastic. He works so hard on and off the ice. He's so dialed in. Unbelievable shots, Gates. He does everything and I've been lucky enough to play with him for as long as I have. I absolutely love playing with him and you know excited to continue to play with them. With Mark Scheifle of the Winnipeg Jets, so you set a team record recently passing Ilya Kovalchuk for most goals in franchise history but it's such a weird record book because it's Atlanta as opposed to the original Winnipeg Jets and obviously Dale Howard Chuck sits atop that in terms of you know Jets 1.0 and your connection to him

when he was up in Barry with you and you know you paid homage obviously to passing Kovalchuk but I believe you referenced you know there's another guy and another number that you got your eyes set on what what is that gonna be like you know when you get a chance to kind of catch up to Dale Howarchuk and really set the record straight in terms of Winnipeg sports, you know, the most schools ever scored by a Winnipeg jet? Yeah, you know, obviously the connection with Dale, you know, obviously I wish he was still with us, you know, so I could be giving it back to him or he could be giving it back to me that I got to catch him.

But obviously it means a lot. Obviously an honor to pass Kolbachev, what a fantastic player in our league. Obviously chasing down Dale, he was such an amazing player, such an amazing guy in the community of Winnipeg. And obviously, big reason why I'm a Winnipeg Jet and got selected by them. And it's obviously a tremendous honour. And I'm just thankful to the Winnipeg Jets for trusting me 14 years ago and drafting me and giving me the opportunity to become the player I am. So obviously just tremendously honoured.

So we were joking around with O-Dog who has to be on the panel tonight and the puck drop is at 1022 Eastern and he's Pete Rosen going to fall asleep on the panel we believe tonight. But I wanted for you to share basically how the body clock gets messed up a little bit with the time zone so say you guys go out and play in San Jose and that's a 10 a 730 local start I mean does that mess with you a little bit or how do you feel or you change your routine during that day? I hate that's a thing you like you you try to obviously get on the time zone but then at the same time if you're playing a bunch of games you just want wanna get as much sleep as possible.

So you kinda have to play that, you kinda have to find that fine line of, how much is, when do I go to sleep? What's the best course of action? I know a trip this year, we started in St. Louis, and then we went to Seattle, so two hours behind, and then went to Calgary, and then back back to the central and then played one game at home And then out to the East Coast for for another road trip. So we were on like in every time zone in like seven days

So at that time you don't you're not even thinking about the time zone You're literally just thinking about how when can I sleep? How long can I sleep? And then how much coffee can I get before the game? sleep and then how much coffee can I get before the game? Shaif, I know you're in tune with everything. You got some crazy Gary Robertson where you exhaust every option into being your best. Is it still pregame meals where guys sit down and have a mound of pasta with meat sauce and chicken or are pregame meals different now? I think they're a little different. There are still guys that will do that.

What do you do? I'm usually like, I go like a little bit of, a little bit of rice, chicken, some potatoes, usually vegetables, broccoli or carrots or peas. And then, no not peas, beans, like green beans with a salad is usually my go-to on a game day. But obviously, I try to change it around a little bit. Usually it consists of the same stuff,

but just done in a different way, just so I'm not just eating the same monotonous meal every game day. But it is pretty thought out. And then it always changes a little bit too, based on how I'm feeling. I've been eating the same thing, sometimes. And then it always changes a little bit too, based on how I'm feeling. You know, if I've been needing the same things, sometimes I just wanna change it up a little bit,

just for my brain to get a break from it. But you know, it's always a work in progress. With Mark Shifely, and I'm sure you kind of set the tone on that when you started your career in Barry with the Barry Colts. And I'm sure you're aware of this, the OHL is putting together a first and second team all-century team for all of the OHL teams and the Colts revealed theirs a couple of days ago and Mark of

course you're in the first line Brian Little, Andrew Mangiapani, Aaron Echblad, Brant Clark, Mackenzie Blackwood, Oza Guelph, Storm Alumni, I haven't seen their top 25 I'm sure Doughty will be on it. Who else will be on that? Callahan probably. A couple of guys. But I don't know if you can touch that. I mean, do you want to speak to your OHL alumni and the fact that this Colts top line, man? I don't think anyone in the OHL can top it. Yeah, it's pretty good. Obviously, you know, I was so lucky to have Dale as my coach there. The Barry Colts were fantastic to me and obviously got a chance to play with Brian Little who

is an absolutely fantastic player and a guy that I learned so much from. It's crazy to think about Mackenzie Blackwood. He was like our third goalie my last year in junior and he was the guy that was just out there taking shots, playing two puck and taking breakaways and all of a sudden he's a starting goalie for the avalanche now. So when you look back that long ago and then you see it now, it's pretty cool to see and it's making me feel old because that was like 13 years ago so that's pretty wild yeah long 15 years ago how long is the list for the Barry Colts to our Brian Hayes his name is on that didn't you take a slap shot off a Brian Finley

said yeah I hit Finner in the head in a warm-up his first game back and I almost got cut on the spot I you'd have to go thousands of teams deep. Team 1200. Team 1200. I'd be somewhere on the second list of that team. But yeah, what a town, man. Even the second team Colts, man. Svechnikov's on there. Rasmus Anderson, your boy Noodle's, he's on there. Yeah, I love a player. I mean, you're awfully quiet. Oh, I don't see any see any girls storm love from not a lot of people buzzing about the storm alumni all pump out the list i don't know i'll probably get screwed out of it well

you're not on it you play in the nineties are too old it's just from the two thousand so on you're not on that list i'm not even interested in that i was getting ready to pop up my chest when the storm got announced but i it now you'll be on it no chance uh... anyway mark we appreciate doing this uh... it's what what's your plan on friday with the trade deadline like do you know the tracking your phone are you waiting for shoveled out the come down and talk to the guys like what what is it like being

in the nch on it on a day like that on a b we really really were on the back half of back to back that day. So obviously you'll be paying attention, but we play Philly tomorrow and then Jersey the next day. So probably try to sleep in as much as you can and wake up to seeing a bunch of things happening and then try to sleep some more. So I feel like other years we haven't played on the on the trade deadline day and you and you watch a little more but you know obviously

having a game to play you're you know there's probably gonna be a little less attention on it. For sure well good luck between now and then and down the stretch and into the playoffs it's been truly an awesome season watching you guys and tracking you guys and you're having a great year individually too so So keep that up. We're tracking you guys and thank you for doing this today Awesome. Thank you guys. You got it. There's a mark Shifely women run the charts lead the conversation and make history

this International Women's Day I heart radio celebrates them all Turn up the women of the North playlist for iconic Canadian artists. Lock out with queens of every sound and take a trip with hits through herstory. Plus empowering podcasts by women for women. Stream now and celebrate the power of women everywhere with the free I Heart Radio app.