Scheifele forgives after season-ending injury, thankful for support from family and chaplain

NHLer Mark Scheifele says "God has a plan for everything" after sharing that he forgives a player who cut his hockey season short.

The Winnipeg Jets player is sharing that he is staying positive after his already-condensed season was cut even shorter after becoming injured.

After a months-long pause, the Winnipeg Jets hit the ice as part of a shortened season. Only one game into the new season, Scheifele was the recipient of a big hit, forcing him off the ice much earlier than the rest of the team, who was later eliminated.

On August 1 during a Calgary Flames match up, Matthew Tkachuk and Scheifele collided, leaving Scheifele injured and out of the season. When the crash occurred, the Winnipeg Jets were uncertain of how serious the injury was. Scheifele says it was difficult for his family to watch.

"For my mom, she had to take a walk when it happened. She was thinking the worst as well."

"I was definitely in a dark place," Scheifele says. The athlete initially thought that the hit caused him to tear his Achilles Tendon, an injury that could have forced Scheifele into a long recovery.

While he did not share more information about his injury, Scheifele added that it was not as serious of an injury as everyone initially thought.

Scheifele says he and Tkachuk later connected, and that Scheifele believes Tkachuk did not intend to injure him. Scheifele adds that he forgives Tkachuk.

The 27-year-old NHLer says the only thing on his mind is "staying positive" and has had his family by his side.

"You turn to the people that you love most in your life. I turned even to our chaplain, Lorne Korol a little bit... when you are thinking about the worst and get negative, you gotta turn it around and look at in a different light."

The athlete says that it is important for him to remain positive and is leaning on God's plan for him.

"God has a plan for everything. I had to turn my mentality around and know that everything is going to be ok."

Now that Scheifele and the Jets know more about his injury, he is thinking about getting back onto the ice.

"I want to play hockey. That is what I enjoy doing."

Scheifele is expecting to make a full recovery.

"Anytime you go through something like this it takes a lot of willpower, it takes a lot of strength. Anytime you go through adversity like that you are only going to be stronger on the back end of it," the player says about the unique season.

The player is encouraged after putting a plan in place, knowing that he has his loved ones to support him. He is looking at the "bigger picture" to help him keep a positive attitude about his future.