Scheifele and Perfetti work well together on and off the ice

WINNIPEG – As the Winnipeg Jets training camp winds down and two groups have dwindled into one, a familiar sight is seeing Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti together on the ice.

At the beginning of practice, the two centres will send passes back and forth to one another at one end of the ice until Rick Bowness blows the whistle to begin drills. It’s a friendship that started the day Perfetti was drafted 10^th overall by the Jets back in 2020.

“He (Scheifele) texted me the night of the draft, he texted me a couple of times throughout the World Juniors (in December 2021) and stuff like that after. Then when I came in for the first week, I was on the taxi squad that week and he was pretty helpful. I mean he’s like in the middle of his season and I was on the taxi squad, taking me aside a couple of times and helping me,” said Perfetti.

“You know, then I went away for the rest of the season (with the Manitoba Moose), and I didn’t really see him. Then when I came back the year after he was really good for the first camp and then for the first couple of weeks when I was up with the team, he was really nice.”

Both are from Ontario; both played their major junior hockey in the OHL. But it’s more than just their birthplace and hockey resume that led to them becoming friends.

“Yeah, he’s just a good kid. He’s just a guy who loves the game, you know, obviously he played in Saginaw, I was drafted by Saginaw so that kind of was a good talking point right away. He’s just a good guy, he asks lots of questions, he’s fun to be around, he’s a happy, enthusiastic kid and I find myself closer to guys like that,” said Scheifele.

“I see a lot of myself in him. That’s the instant connection, sometimes you just click with someone and a guy who loves to talk hockey, he loves to work on his game and just a fun guy to be around. You gravitate to guys with smiles on their face and that you can joke around with and poke fun at and he pokes fun at you, it’s great.”

Scheifele said it took Perfetti until last year to start chirping back when the two-play golf. Obviously, a big reason for that was the now 21-year-old was a full-time Jet in 2022-23 but the age gap also clearly plays a role in Perfetti holding back.

“It took a while to feel comfortable, not comfortable, just be like, he’s just one of those guys you look up to. I remember when he came into the league, I was 12-13. When did he come in 2013? So, I would have been 11 or 12 and he was on Team North America (at the World Cup of Hockey), I remember watching that and I was like wow,” said Perfetti.

“I was looking up to him and all of a sudden, fast forward and now you’re like really good friends with him and he’s like golfing with you and he’s treating you so well and he’s chirping you on the golf course and I’m like I don’t want to give it back to him. I don’t want to make him mad or anything. He takes it really well, first time I chirped him I remember I was like ‘Oh my God, how’s he going to take it?’ He laughed.”

But some of that shyness still remains.

“There are definitely times where he’s a little shy and you have to give him flak for it but he’s coming into his own. He’s growing up and that’s what it’s all about,” said Scheifele.

“Making mistakes and learning from it and having someone to look out for you and you look out for them and that’s just how good friendships start.”

Hockey, golf and football are the usual subjects when the two hang out, but Scheifele has tried to get Perfetti into the world of Marvel superheroes.

“It’s funny, I do appreciate them. When we saw Black Panther 2, I thought it was amazing. But it’s not necessarily my cup of tea to go sit in a movie theatre for three hours. Where he loves it, so I mean I still enjoy the movie but after the fact, we went out for dinner, and he was still talking about it. The movie, he like went home and watched it, got caught in the rabbit hole of breakdowns of the movie and stuff like that. Why this, why that, what happened, and he was talking about this the next day, and I was like ‘Yeah bro, it’s sick. It was a great movie’. I thought it was unreal, but he was big into it, it was funny,” said Perfetti.

“I forget where we were when he went and saw Antman (and Wasp: Quantumania), it was New York City, and I was ‘I think I might go shopping or go see Times Square or something’ and he’s like ‘I’m going to go see a movie’. As much of a super star of a player he is, he's just a simple guy which you kind of appreciate. Just a simple guy, New York City and wants to hang out and watch a movie, I kind of appreciate that about him, really low key, really chill and just down to earth.”

One of Perfetti’s strengths is his willingness to do whatever it takes to get better and part of that is taking input from coaches and of course, his teammates. Scheifele admitted that he didn’t want to overload Perfetti with information early on.

“You let him come to you and talk about a few things and you bring a few things to him and all of a sudden, it’s just an open conversation all the time. You can bring up absolutely anything and there’s a conversation,” said Scheifele.

“In the season there’s going to be a lot more dialogue, a lot more bouncing ideas off each other, we sit beside each other in the room. So, I’m sure there will be lots of conversations like that.”

Despite his efforts, Perfetti has had a tough time staying healthy during his young NHL career and one thing you can say about Scheifele, is that he has been durable over his.  The 30-year-old veteran is impressed about everything that Perfetti did over the summer months to prepare himself for the 82-game grind.

“He made some changes in his training this offseason, he looks stronger. You know I think that’s the part of growth, there’s going to be injuries, there’s going to bad bounces,” said Scheifele.

“But it’s how you bounce back from them is always the determining factor of your character. He’s a guy who hasn’t taken it lightly. He’s had a fantastic summer, worked really hard. Those type of guys always seem to come out on top.”

The guidance Perfetti has received from Scheifele - an established NHL veteran with over 700 games and 645 career points under his belt – will only continue to benefit Perfetti going forward.

And he’s incredibly thankful to have that friendship.

“People don’t give him enough credit for how nice of a guy that he is. He puts other people first. I just really appreciate having guys like that in your life,” Perfetti said of Scheifele.

“I’m grateful that he’s as good as he is with me and it’s nice to have him as a teammate.”