He's been able to get his golf game back on track heading into the tournament, but not at the expense of his off-season training.
Just as Scheifele's golf game has changed, so too has the way he prepares for each season. In fact, going into the 2022-23 campaign, Scheifele is as excited as ever to see how his new training regiment changes things on the ice.
"I started working with a new guy. Andrew Copp actually introduced me to him last summer," said Scheifele, adding that the pandemic's closure of fitness facilities meant he and Copp were almost their own trainers for a couple off-seasons.
This summer's training took Scheifele to Michigan.
"I've learned a lot myself this summer. They have a great group of guys that skate down there. A lot of highly skilled guys which helps me, and I can skate with those guys,' Scheifele said, while not revealing too many specifics on what he changed. "I'm going to back to kind of prep myself for camp after I leave Winnipeg. It's an exciting time, you make those changes and you love it. It re-ignites a lot of energy."
The energy coming off Scheifele was noticeable. Perhaps it's the anticipation of an incredible week at Southwood Golf and Country Club, but it's no secret Scheifele can't wait to get camp started.
He's already spoken with new head coach Rick Bowness, who coached Scheifele's friend Tyler Seguin in Dallas for the past five seasons.
"A fantastic human being is what I've heard over and over. He did wonders when he came in in Dallas," said Scheifele. "I'm really excited to get the year going, get training camp going and start to talk hockey theory and Xs and Os and a little more of that. He seems like a great communicator, which I'm really excited about."
His focus has always been on becoming the best player he can be, and he looks at this coming season as another opportunity to take a step toward that.
When he reflects on last season, the stats show he had 29 goals (barely missing out on his third 30-goal season) and 70 points in 67 games. While those numbers show the centre was a point-per-game player for the sixth straight campaign, it wasn't all fairways and greens.
He missed the first game of the season due to suspension, then was one of the first players on the roster to test positive for COVID-19 in 2021-22, and then missed the final nine games of the season due to an upper-body injury he sustained in Ottawa on April 10.
"The start of the year was kind of a bit of a disaster. It took me a couple of months to feel like myself again," he said. "It's one of those things that I always look at as an opportunity to learn and to get better as a person, dealing with those kind of experiences and then learning from them and getting better for it. I definitely did that and have had a great summer and like I said, I'm really excited to get this year going again."
After all, just like Scheifele, the Jets are a group with something to prove on the ice this season.
"Obviously last year wasn't the best for our team but we have a fantastic roster, a lot of great pieces and a lot of guys who are going to be fighting for spots," said Scheifele. "I think we're going to have to just stop talking about it and show it on the ice."
