Jets' Scheifele hopes to be better than Crosby, McDavid

Last season, just six players finished with more points than Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele. Among them were Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, who finished first and second respectively in league scoring.

Scheifele hit a career-high 82 points in his 2016-17 campaign, shattering his previous high (from the year prior) by 21 points. And Scheifele believes he can do better - so much better, he feels he should be able to rival the league's reigning top two scorers.

"Oh, yeah," Scheifele said, according to NHL.com's Nicholas Cotsonika. "There's no doubt in my mind. In this sport, you can't say, 'Oh, you know, that was great. I just hope to stay amongst them.' I'm pushing to be better than Connor, better than Sid."

The 24-year-old understands that aim might seem outlandish, but he thinks there's reason to believe he could achieve it.

"Obviously they're pretty lofty goals," Scheifele said. "Those guys are special players. They work unbelievably hard at their game. But at one time last year, I was top in the league in scoring."

Confidence doesn't seem to be an issue for Scheifele. It's also likely why he feels that if he and his talented linemates (Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers) can maintain their chemistry, there's no reason why he can't continue to rank among the league's elite.

"In my mind, I see it as, if I stay more consistent, there's no reason why I can't stay there," Scheifele said. "I've just got to continue to push. I've got some great linemates, which helps me. We've got a great (defense) corps behind us. I'm going to continue to push to be the best and not just be mentioned in that company, but be at the very top."