MINSK, Belarus -- Before Mark Scheifele got injured in early March, the Winnipeg Jets sat one point out of a playoff spot. Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . A sprained right knee derailed any hope of making a run. Now Scheifele is healthy, and Team Canada heads into the playoff round at the world hockey championship with legitimate medal aspirations thanks in part to his progression. "Every game hes got better and better," coach Dave Tippett said. "Hes been good in the faceoff dot, puck control. ... Were going to need everybody to be a good team in the quarter-final, and Scheif, his game has improved every game we played." Scheifele assisted on Ryan Elliss overtime winner against Sweden, scored against Norway and is making use of his increased ice time. Along with the Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri and the Calgary Flames Sean Monahan, the 21-year-old Jets centre is making big strides in Minsk. "You just gain experience," Scheifele said. "You play against different kinds of hockey. Its just kind of a matter of learning how to adapt to who youre playing against, what kind of competition youre coming against. Obviously just playing with and against the best players in the world helps." Each game is a new test for the young Canadian team, but Scheifeles journey to the world championships showed Paul Maurice something. Maurice, his coach in Winnipeg and an assistant to Tippett at this tournament, was impressed by how hard Scheifele worked to recover from a sprained MCL to be ready. At first, the coaching staff saw a player who hadnt experienced game action in more than two months. Then Maurice saw the player who was so vital to the Jets when healthy. "Hes responded like Mark does: He just got better," Maurice said. "He didnt play a lot in the (first) few games and kept working hard in practice and hed get his handful of shifts one night and show you something in each shift. Dave Tippett is really strong at recognizing that in players during games, so hes gotten more and more opportunity." Scheifele, who is expected to again centre the fourth line in Thursdays quarter-final game against Finland, had a leg up on Monahan going in because he had a little more experience. But he wasnt quite himself. That made Scheifele the 13th forward and his ice time dropped. The Kitchener, Ont., native played just 2:20 in the second game against Slovakia and then 2:34 the next one against the Czech Republic. A leg injury to Alex Burrows -- who practised Wednesday and is set to return against Finland after a two-game absence -- gave Scheifele another chance. His patience set up arguably Canadas biggest goal of the tournament, and he scored another to help ensure first place in the group. "I think every game I kind of get a little more ice, a little more comfortable," Scheifele said. "Every game, just getting my legs under me, and thats the biggest thing. I feel more comfortable every game, and I just got to continue that." The tests are just beginning for the world championship rookies, including 20-year-old Flames prospect Johnny Gaudreau, whose U.S. team faces the Czech Republic on Thursday for the right to face the winner of Canada-Finland. "Playing with NHL players and playing against NHL players obviously will help me in my game and help me develop as a player," Gaudreau said. "Playing college the last three years I felt this would be the best opportunity to help me become a better pro." Olli Jokinen, a teammate of Scheifeles with the Jets and captain of Finland, agrees wholeheartedly. "Everybodys goal is to make the playoffs and have a long run. At the same time with the younger players coming here, I think for them understanding the games like this. Its like a Game 7 in the playoffs," Jokinen said. "Having experience like that, its going to help you to get even better. And at the same time, for the younger guys, its an eye-opener, probably, too, how tough this tournament actually is." Tippett likes that his younger players get an opportunity to play in "real competitive, playoff-style games." Rielly considers it beneficial to work with three different coaches he didnt know before and thinks that itll help him learn quicker in the future. "You get a chance to kind of learn new breakouts, new power-play things," the 20-year-old Leafs defenceman said. "I think if youre trying to keep learning like that, thats always helpful. I think Ill be able to carry that back to Toronto with me." Scheifele and Maurice will be able to carry something back to Winnipeg, as well. The tournament is just another chance for the coach who signed a four-year deal and the Jets franchise forward to get better accustomed to each other after just half a season together. Maurice said hes still learning about Scheifele, but he has a lot to be proud of over the past couple of months. "What I really like is how hes handled the adversity of the injury," Maurice said. "When something doesnt go his way, he doesnt quit. He digs in and works harder and competes and then I also recognize that this is a learning experience for him. Over the course of his career hes going to have some adversity. "The question is how do you learn to handle it, and hes learned to handle it here with some pretty high-level hockey where he wasnt handed ice time and he fought his way through it and became a real important part of the team here." According to Jokinen, Scheifele followed the same path in his first full NHL season as he has at the world championships. As a result, he has a chance to be a major contributor for Canada now that every game is an elimination game. "It took him a little bit of time to get used to it," Jokinen said. "But once he started feeling comfortable, he was really good for us. Hes a highly skilled player, he can be the difference-maker every time when he steps on the ice." NOTES -- Tippett would not reveal which goaltender, Ben Scrivens or James Reimer, would start Thursday against Finland, which has no such dilemma thanks to the presence of a healthy Pekka Rinne. ... Defenceman Tyler Myers missed Wednesdays practice because of the flu bug thats going around the team. Tippett expects him to be OK to play in the quarter-finals. Authentic Thomas Steen Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Authentic Teppo Numminen Jersey .com) - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 11. http://www.cheapnhljetsjerseysauthentic.com/ . PAUL, Minn.OTTAWA -- Justin Bailey scored in regulation, and had the deciding goal in a shootout to lift the Kitchener Rangers to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa 67s in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. Brent Pedersen and Nick Magyar also scored for Kitchener (5-11-1), and Darby Llewellyn and Max Iafrate each recorded an assist. Travis Konecny had a three-point game with a goal and two assists for the 67s (7-11-1), while Brett Gustabsen and Alex Lintuniemi had the other Ottawa goals. Phillippe Trudeau stopped 48 shots in defeat while Kitcheners Matthew Greenfield made 24 saves for the victory. --- STEELHEADS 4 STING 3 MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Sam Babintsev scored his fifth goal of the season at 13:08 of the second period to lift the Steelheads over Sarnia. Trevor Carrick, Andrew Goldberg, and Bobby MacIntyre also scored for Mississauga (12-8-1), while Jared Walsh added two assists. Craig Duininck had a goal and an assist for the Sting (5-14-1). Erik Robichaud and Nikita Korostelev rounded out the Sarnia offence. Sarnia goaltender Brodie Barrick was pulled in the second period after allowing all four goals on 20 shoots. Authentic Brandon Tanev Jersey. Taylor Dupuis made 22 saves in relief while the Steelheads Spencer Martin stopped 17 shots for the win. --- BATTALION 2 ATTACK 1 (SO) NORTH BAY, Ont. -- Vincent Praplan, Alex Henriksson and Barclay Goodrow all scored in the shootout as the Battalion edged Owen Sound. Goodrow had a power-play goal for North Bay (10-11-1) with less than two minutes left in the third period to force overtime. Brendan ONeill made 28 saves in regulation and overtime to earn the win. Kyle Hope gave the Attack (9-9-3) a 1-0 lead in the second period. Jack Flinn stopped 36 shots in net. --- KNIGHTS 3 SPITFIRES 1 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Tim Bender scored the eventual winner at 15:10 of the third period and Anthony Stolarz made 34 saves as London edged the Spitfires. 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