It's finally official: the Winnipeg Jets have re-assigned Mark Scheifele to the OHL's Barrie Colts, as reported by TSN's Bob McKenzie on Twitter earlier today:
WPG returns Mark Scheifele to Barrie of the OHL.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 6, 2013
In four games with the Winnipeg Jets, Scheifele was a perennial Milford man on the stats sheet: neither seen nor heard. His final numbers read as such: Zero goals. Zero assists. And to top it off, a +/- of 0.
His stats were quite indicative of his play during his trial period in Winnipeg. He wasn't fantastic, nor was it ghastly. Scheifele was able to hold his own most nights, not looking terribly out of place, yet not doing much to solidify burning a roster spot on him.
So, he has been returned to the OHL where he can continue to impose his dominance on kids his age, work on his consistency and perhaps continue to develop his already improved skating stride.
We pointed out some of the roadblocks that Scheifele was facing a few weeks ago, one of which was echoed today by CJOB's Jim Toth:
There is no doubt #NHLJets Scheifele has skill to be on this team. However he can’t stay on his feet yet. Even at WJHC. Other rookies can.
— Jim Toth (@JimTothCJOB) February 6, 2013
As Jets' fans, we just need to take this in stride. The PTA has not disbanded. Every prospect develops at their own pace and it was clear that Scheifele wasn't ready to make that next step at this juncture of his career.
And who knows, with a bevy of centre's at their current disposal — though none of them quite good in the face-off dot — there may be further "conditioning" in Scheifele's future as a Jet.
Keep calm, carry on.