Winnipeg’s Jarvis will dare to be great with Canes

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This article was published 06/10/2020 (2114 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Tracey Shields-Jarvis’s youngest son Seth was four, she had the intuition to stencil an inspirational message in block letters on his bedroom wall.

It read: “Dare to be great.”

Seth Jarvis, a right-winger who turned 18 on Feb. 1, couldn’t forget it. It still stares him in the face every morning he wakes up there.

Who could have known that the wisdom of Dr. J (Tracey was a standout basketball player at the University of Manitoba in the early ’90s) would resonate with a young hockey player from Winnipeg?

“I think when you wake up every day and kind of see that over your closet, it sticks with you and that’s something that I think Julius Erving said, an NBA great,” said Seth. “So to see that every day just really pushed me.”

Apparently, Seth’s mom, who is a teacher at Hastings School, a K-to-8 in St. Vital, knows about moulding young minds.

On Tuesday night, in the company of a few friends and members of his extended family, Seth got another affirmation of that childhood mantra when he was chosen by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 13th overall pick in the first round of Tuesday’s NHL draft.

Tracey and husband Ray, also an educator, firmly believed Tuesday’s career milestone will be followed by others.

“It’s nice to have this this step over with, now it’s right back to work,” said Tracey.

“You know, he worked out this morning and then he’ll work out again tomorrow morning. It’s just back to work.”

Seth had endured an extended pre-draft waiting period (the mid-summer event was delayed four months by the pandemic) but after dozens of team interviews, he had no solid clue the Hurricanes were particularly interested in him when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman put Carolina on the clock at 7:38 p.m.

The elation when Seth’s name was called also came as a relief. The pressure was off, finally.

Had he even heard much from the Hurricanes’ brass?

“I think not more than twice,” said Seth with a wide grin. “Probably not since the beginning of the summer. I didn’t talk to them very much but I’m over the moon now to be to be part of that organization.”

About 20 minutes earlier, with the hometown Jets on notice, came the only real tension of the night. The crowd was suddenly quiet and Ray Jarvis started to tap his feet nervously.

Winnipeg was Seth’s favourite NHL team from childhood and he felt it would have been a good match.

“… the truth is that Seth will do everything in his power, no matter what team he plays for. We knew that whoever picked him will get his best every day.”
– Tracey Shields-Jarvis

“I think I was hoping to get picked there, obviously I grew up a childhood fan of that team but I’m more than happy. This is the best I’ve ever felt, getting picked by Carolina Hurricanes. They’re my new favourite team and I’m super happy to be part of that organization.”

Tracey admitted she hoped for a hometown connection.

“That would have been amazing, I think, just for any kid to be picked by their hometown team,” she said. “But the truth is that Seth will do everything in his power, no matter what team he plays for. We knew that whoever picked him will get his best every day.

So if it was going to be the Jets, that would have been fabulous. But we’re so proud that Carolina sees something in him.”

Seth, still soaking in the moment after a congratulatory cal from Hurricanes head coach Rob Brind’Amour and general manager Don Waddell, admitted he had a premonition he would be taken by the Nashville Predators with the 11th-overall pick.

Instead, the Preds produced the draft’s wild card, uber-talented Russian goalie Yaroslav Askarov.

“I was thinking Nashville,” said Seth, who was second in WHL scoring with the Portland Winterhawks last season. “I know they were talking to my agent a lot right up to the draft.”

The Jarvis’s had a large community of coaches, former teamates and friends to thank for lending a hand in Seth’s success. In fact, as special tribute they live-streamed the entire night for Val Ashbaugh, Seth’s “amazing billet” in Portland.

Another happy person was Seth’s brother Kayden, a University of Manitoba student and skills instructor at the Rink Hockey Academy. He also does double-duty as Seth’s personal skills coach.

“I always joke around that maybe I had a bigger hand in it than I actually did,” said Kayden, who is six years older than his brother. “One of my friends texted me today saying they remembered him when he was three years old running around the rink with a hockey stick in his hand. He hasn’t had it out of his hand since.

“Just growing up and and seeing him progress through different levels, it’s been amazing and I’m so proud of him.”

The last word went to Carson Shields, Seth’s uncle, who had predicted early in the night his nephew would go 14th to the Edmonton Oilers.

“I told you he wouldn’t get past 14,” he said.

 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14