Jarvis Canada’s ‘Swiss Army Knife’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2025 (272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Seth Jarvis has come a long way from his days of chasing a puck around the ice at the Starbuck Hockey Academy with two very specific goals in mind.

1. Make it to the NHL.

2. Represent his country.

The 23-year-old Winnipegger has already made the first one a reality, suiting up for his 278th big-league game on Tuesday night as his Carolina Hurricanes face the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

The second? It’s about to come true, too. Jarvis is set to play for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off which begins next week.

“My dream was always to wear the Maple Leaf,” Jarvis told the Free Press following the morning skate at the downtown rink. “To have a chance on a stage like this is really fun.”

A busy regular-season schedule has provided enough of a distraction that Jarvis hasn’t spent a ton of time thinking about what it’s going to be like, but that’s about to change. In a matter of days the young forward will be on the same squad as the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Cale Makar.

“I did a pretty good job putting it out of my mind after it got announced, but it’s definitely starting to creep in on me now,” he said. “This is something really special.”

Jarvis would have been considered a longshot at best a year ago, but his rapid development put him on the radar. After a career-best 67 points last year (33G, 34A) in 81 games, Jarvis already has 40 points (20G, 20A) in 46 games this year prior to facing his hometown Jets.

“I see him all the time and I’m very fond of the player and what he’s done in a short period of time. He’s getting better and better right before our eyes, so it’s a well-deserved honour.”–Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour

“Just keeping it fun. Having as much fun as I can,” Jarvis said of his personal keys to success.

“I think that makes it easy coming to the rink every day. Put in the work and work hard. That’s what my whole life, my whole game has been based around, is working hard. So coming in every day with a mindset of getting better and having fun while doing it makes it a whole lot more enjoyable.”

It helps when a well-respected head coach such as Rod Brind’Amour has your back. That was certainly the case when Team Canada brass called up the Carolina bench boss for his take on Jarvis.

“It was a no-brainer for me when they asked about him,” he said Tuesday.

“It’s easy because he can do whatever you want him to do. If you just need him to kill penalties, he can do that. If you want him to be on power play in a certain spot he can do that. Maybe even just a fourth line role because he’s responsible. I see him all the time and I’m very fond of the player and what he’s done in a short period of time. He’s getting better and better right before our eyes, so it’s a well-deserved honour.”

After getting selected in early December, Jarvis joked he’d be willing to play where Team Canada wants — including right-defence if necessary.

“Yeah, that might be the one role I wouldn’t put him, but I’m sure he’d be willing to,” Brind’Amour said with a laugh.

Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey — who was preparing to try and stop Jarvis from doing any damage on Tuesday night — is looking forward to calling him a Canadian teammate starting next week.

“He’s kind of a Swiss Army Knife. Plays on the penalty kill, power play obviously and different situations. He can score, he’s crafty and just seems to continue every year to evolve his game,” said Morrissey.

“He’s kind of a Swiss Army Knife. Plays on the penalty kill, power play obviously and different situations. He can score, he’s crafty and just seems to continue every year to evolve his game.”–Josh Morrissey

“It’ll be fun to get to know him a little bit there over the course of the tournament coming up. I haven’t had a chance to spend much time with him off the ice, but have heard nothing but great things. He’s got a good personality and lots of funny stuff in the media, so looking forward to getting to know him.”

It was suggested that perhaps Morrissey, who plays left defence, might even see him as a blue-line partner.

“Like I said, he’s a Swiss Army Knife, so we’ll see what happens,” he replied.

Hindsight is always 20-20, but it’s worth noting Jarvis could have been drafted by his hometown team. He was still on the board in 2020 when the Jets chose Cole Perfetti at 10th-overall. The Nashville Predators (G Yaraslov Askarov, 11th) and Florida Panthers (C Anton Lundell, 12th) also passed before the Hurricanes called his name at No. 13.

“He’s a guy that’s grown. I remember when they had him on the (Jordan) Staal line, kind of on that checking line. (He) kind of learned how to play without the puck,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel, who was an assistant coach in Washington when Jarvis first came into the league and got to see him a bit more often.

“Now he turned his offensive skill on the power play, five-on-five. He’s become a real solid all-around player. He isn’t just one-dimensional. He kills penalties, takes faceoffs. He’s earned that opportunity he’s getting to play for Canada.”

Tuesday marked the fourth time Jarvis has played an NHL game in his own backyard, but the annual visit is always a highlight of the season. He purchased about 25 tickets for family members and friends and was expecting an even larger contingent including members of Starbuck Hockey Academy and The Rink (which he also attended) coming in droves.

“A lot of ties are coming to the game, which will be fun,” he said.

Jarvis can now add a third goal to his list, one he hopes to accomplishment as early as this coming spring — winning a Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes appear to be primed for a lengthy run, especially with adding Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in separate trades recently.

“It’s been awesome just to see how they operate, Obviously Rants has won pretty recently so he knows what it takes, and Hallsy’s been around for a long time and been a really great player,” said Jarvis.

“It’s nice to see how they carry themselves in practice and just try to pick up things from their game and just move on from there.”

Jarvis said the same goes for his coach, who has 1,484 regular-season games played on his resume and another 159 playoff contests.

“I have a lot of things to learn, and a lot of it comes from him,” said Jarvis.

“He’s someone that I pick up a lot of stuff from and has always been there to coach me hard, which I really appreciate, and keep me in line which is something I’ve needed especially as a young player.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg