‘Easiest decision ever’

MILAN — Seth Jarvis has made it to the Olympics. Could his famous Winnipeg friends be soon to follow?

“I hope so,” Jarvis told the Free Press on Sunday with a laugh following his team’s first practice in Milan. “They’re trying to figure it out. Its a tough trek for them but if they can find a way, they’ll make it out here.”

A quick refresher: rewind to the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, when five of Jarvis’ childhood buddies jumped into a car and made the 30-hour drive from Winnipeg to Boston, arriving just in time to watch him play in the gold-medal game against the United States.

Flying had been the original — and far more sensible — plan, but a last-minute cancellation forced an audible. The travel adventure, and their unwavering support of Jarvis, thrust the group into the public spotlight and turned them into overnight celebrities.

Now, one year later, some quick thinking may again be required.

Jarvis wasn’t on the initial Canadian roster named on New Year’s Eve, and the 24-year-old had planned to spend the NHL’s lengthy mid-season pause in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But an injury to Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point suddenly opened a door that seemed firmly shut, and Jarvis received the call of a lifetime on Wednesday.

“This was the easiest decision ever,” he said. “I wasn’t going to pass this up. I don’t know if it will ever come again.”

It may not be so simple for his pals back in Winnipeg — Brian Hanna, Sloan Tremblay, Matt McLeod, Lucas Fry and Lucas Humble — though they do have the benefit of a little time. Canada doesn’t begin round-robin play until Thursday against Czechia.

It’s also possible that Jarvis begins the Olympics on the sidelines. Canada will healthy-scratch a couple of skaters each game, and Jarvis and Sam Bennett, another late injury replacement (for Tampa’s Anthony Cirelli), were the extras during Sunday’s line rushes at practice.

“Obviously you want to make the team right out of the gate,” Jarvis said, admitting there was some initial disappointment on his part. That led to a viral interview he did on New Year’s Day where he had this to say of his exclusion: “Sometimes you gotta eat a s—t sandwich and chew on it for a little bit.”

Safe to say things taste a bit better now.

“You know injuries happen in hockey. And you have to be ready. So just continued to play my game, continued to get better every day and keep showcasing myself so that if I did get the opportunity I’d be ready to go,” said Jarvis.

Canadian head coach Jon Cooper said turning to Jarvis was an easy call.

“He’s earned it. If he doesn’t have that injury (which caused him to miss eight games earlier this year) he’s probably 30-plus goals right now,” said Cooper.

“And there’s not too many guys have power play goals, shorthanded goals, five on five goals, go down the list. I mean, he scored in every fashion. He can play any position, any time. And then listen, he made a great impression at 4 Nations and he was a phenomenal kid.”

Not so simple was the decision to leave Point and Cirelli, who Cooper coaches with the Lightning, back home.

“Two of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had in my life were the back to back conversations with Anthony and Brayden,” he said.

“And so they’ll always be with us, but I know that if those two guys had a choice of who got to take their spots, pretty sure they’d be pretty pumped that Jarvis and Benny were here.”

Jarvis, the 13th-overall pick in the 2020 draft — three spots after his hometown Winnipeg Jets took Cole Perfetti — has 43 points (25G, 18A) in 49 games this year for the Hurricanes. What would the former standout at Winnipeg’s Rink Hockey Academy have said if you’d told him years ago he’d one day be an Olympian?

“I would have said they were lying to me,” said Jarvis.

“I don’t think this was ever quite on my radar, but as the years have gone on I’ve definitely thought to myself this could be a possibility and I could be here.”

Jarvis said he plans to soak up every second of this experience, both on and off the ice.

“It’s definitely been a bit of a blur. Obviously a lot of travel and jet lag. But getting here, checking over the Olympic Village is really cool,” he said.

“Aside from hockey, take in the village, take in experiences. It’s incredible, seeing all these other elite athletes from all over the world doing different sports. Just being around them, meeting them, that’s been really fun.”

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Jarvis is one of three Manitobans on Canada’s roster, alongside fellow Winnipegger Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights and Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Stone skated Sunday on a line with Canadian captain Sidney Crosby and Vegas teammate Mitch Marner, while Sanheim paired on defence with Shea Theodore.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. I don’t even know if I’ve really taken a breath since we got here,” said Stone.

“Seeing all the athletes in all the different sports, different countries, it’s really a tremendous experience. Just fascinating to be a part of it, to be a part of more than just a hockey team, part of a country. We’re all competing for gold medals and silver medals and bronze medals and really just competing for our country. It’s a special feeling.”

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Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.