Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba are the Winnipeg Jets’ prospects with the best chance at competing for spots on the big club this year.
That’s according to TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie, who is Penticton, B.C., for the Canucks Young Stars Classic, which the Jets’ prospects are competing in.
Mark Scheifele, captain of WPG's prospect team in Penticton, and D Jacob Trouba are two young guns with best chance to compete for Jet jobs.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 7, 2013
The Jets played their first game of the five-team tournament on Friday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Neither Scheifele, the 20-year-old center, or Trouba, the 19-year-old defenseman, registered a point in the 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks prospects.
Scheifele, who has 11 games of NHL experience with the Jets after being selected seventh overall in 2011, had a team-high six shots on goal.
Trouba, Winnipeg’s ninth overall selection the following year, was a minus-one.
Scheifele is the veteran of the Jets group in Penticton, having spent time in Winnipeg in each of the last two seasons.
That first year I felt a little awestruck... not knowing what to expect, not knowing how to adapt to playing against guys like (Dustin) Byfuglien and (Zach) Bogosian and huge guys like that,” Scheifele told the Winnipeg Free Press.
“Now that I’ve went through it two years and seen what it takes to handle playing against big guys like that, I definitely think my mental side has gone a big way since my first year.”