There was almost a storybook ending in Winnipeg on Monday night (Dec. 4). Jordan Staal won the offensive zone face-off. Brent Burns collected the loose puck off the boards. After settling it, he directed it to Brady Skjei, gliding up the blue line to the middle of the ice. Skjei connected on the one-timer, but the shot went wide. Winger Andrei Svechnikov watched as the puck bounced off the end boards and slid past him to 21-year-old Seth Jarvis.
With less than 30 seconds left in regulation, the Carolina Hurricanes had six skaters on the ice, scrambling for a game-tying goal. Martin Necas‘ earlier goal gave the Canes a fighting chance against the Winnipeg Jets, who went up 2-0 in the second period. Before the faceoff, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour made a change to his group: Stefan Noesen was called back to the bench and in his place, Brind’Amour pointed to Winnipeg native Seth Jarvis.
Now playing his third game inside Canada Life Centre, Jarvis still thinks back to when he was a kid, no more than six years old skating on that very ice during intermission as part Timbits hockey. “I remember thinking this is the biggest, craziest rink ever,” Jarvis said to the assembled media before Monday’s game. “Now to play here for a couple of times… It’s fun to think back on that.”
Around 30 members of Jarvis’ family attended the game and boyhood buddies — who had to pay their own way — attended as well. Most fans will admit to daydreaming about playing for their hometown teams when they were younger, but it will never be more than a fantasy for more than a few. “I have a lot of buddies that would kill to be in my position, so to be able to share it with them means a lot,” Jarvis told Bally Sports reporter Hanna Yates during the first intermission. “I have a lot of guys who helped me get to where I am. To be able to share that moment with everyone is awesome.”
Like most pro hockey players, Jarvis had to move far from home at a young age to chase his dream of playing in the NHL. When the Canadian Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks came knocking, it was his mom who was hesitant. “My mom was a little bit hesitant,” Jarvis said in 2020. “It’s a 26-hour drive from Winnipeg to Portland.” Every parent can sympathize with Jarvis’ mother. Yet, having faith in her son’s ability, she blessed the move.
When his draft day finally arrived, delayed by a global pandemic, Jarvis was considered a top prospect. The question wasn’t if he would be lucky enough to get selected; it was how fast he would hear his name called and by which NHL organization. Of course, he and his family would have been thrilled to hear his name called by any organization, but there was a special place in his heart for the revived Jets team. “I can only imagine the rush of emotions and how happy I’d be,” Jarvis said about the possibility of being drafted by Winnipeg before he was selected by the Hurricanes 13th overall in 2020. “Playing at home would be something incredible, I think.”
Jarvis Forces Brind’Amour’s Hand
Once he was a member of the Hurricanes, Jarvis didn’t look back. In training camp, he did everything in his power to leave Brind’Amour no option but to include him on the team’s regular-season roster. He patiently waited seven games in the press box for the coach to give him his shot at in-game action. When the opportunity arrived, he again gave Brind’Amour no choice. His abilities on the ice forced him to become a regular in the lineup.
“[Jarvis] doesn’t look much like a rookie to me,” Brind’Amour said to reporters after Jarvis’ first game. “He was great. First game with no nerves at all. I think that’s what makes him special. He’s out there at the end, on the power play, and in big, huge moments making plays. It was a great game for him, especially for a first one.”
Related: Hurricanes’ Top Prospect Seth Jarvis Is Turning Heads
Now in his third season as an NHL regular, Jarvis can no longer be considered a rookie. In Raleigh, his outgoing personality has not only made him a fan favorite but a favorite for media members and the organization’s social media team. His skill with the puck has grown, but that’s not what’s been most impressive: rather, it’s Jarvis’ 200-foot game that’s left everyone marvelling. At 5-foot-10, and 175 pounds, Jarvis falls well below the NHL average of 6-foot-2 and around 200 pounds. Yet, he doesn’t shy away from hits, tough plays, or getting into the scrum along the boards for a loose puck.
Still the youngest player on Brind’Amour’s lineup card, he’s become one of the most trusted. No one was surprised when the head coach made a lineup change with only seconds left in regulation and his team in dire need of a goal — in his hometown or not, Jarvis is the player you want on the ice. Svechnikov knew he didn’t have to make a risky play as he watched the puck slide onto the blade of Jarvis’ stick.
Hurricanes Fall 2-1 to The Jets
Everything in my cynical soul wants to tell the story of the hometown kid who scored the game-tying goal and then led his new team to victory against his boyhood franchise. Sadly, that’s not how this story ends.
Bummer pic.twitter.com/HtQTV0LhjX
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 5, 2023
Svechnikov watched as the puck bounced off the end boards and slid past him to the blade of Jarvis’ stick. Jarvis elevated the puck, trying to beat Winnipeg’s Laurent Brossoit glove high. Before it could even start flying over the blue paint, the puck deflected off the shaft of Svechnikov’s stick, hitting Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. The puck found its way into Brossoit’s glove, and the storybook ending was gone. The official blew his whistle, and Jarvis skated to the back of the net to wipe the sweat from his eyes.
No one would argue that Jarvis would have preferred a different result. However, he also admits that returning home never gets old. Playing in front of his friends and allowing them to experience the game through him is a special gift he gets to relive each time he returns to Winnipeg. “They make it pretty special,” Jarvis said before the game. “We all grew up with the same kind of dream. For me to be able to live it out – sometimes it feels like they’re living through me a little bit. Especially in situations like this, it’s really fun.”
