Jarvis adds scoring bite to AHL Wolves

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/02/2021 (1698 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT was a change of pace and also more of the routine for Seth Jarvis as he made his pro debut on the weekend.

The 19-year-old Winnipegger scored three goals in his first two AHL games for the Chicago Wolves Friday and Saturday, completely in character for the WHL’s second leading scorer in 2019-20.

A twist came in the form of a position change for the first-round (13th-overall) draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, who moved to centre for the Wolves after tearing it up as a right-winger with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.

“(Scoring) helps but there’s still a lot of stuff to work on,” said Jarvis by telephone Sunday. “I think faceoffs are huge for me. It’s something that you just kind of do a lot of reps at, so while I play centre it’s definitely a little bit of a disadvantage but something I’m definitely going to work on. And just cleaning up my defensive zone, knowing my responsibilities. It’s a lot different than playing on the wing so I have to be able to keep in mind that I have to stay on the D side of the puck.”

The move is a bit of an experiment for the Hurricanes, who have two other first-round selections — Dominik Bokk and Ryan Suzuki playing forward with their top farm club.

The Nashville Predators, who have a special loan agreement with Carolina, also placed first-rounder Philip Tomasino with the Wolves.

In Friday’s opener, a 3-1 win against the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins, Jarvis centred a line with Bokk on his right and former WHLer Tanner Jeannot on his left. His first goal came on a man advantage and turned out to be the winner.

“We have a really good power play,” said Jarvis. “We’re all young guys so it went from Tomasino down to Bokk, who’s at the goal line and I just kind of slid back door and then I was able to just kind of find the puck through a couple of bodies and find the five-hole.”

In Saturday’s 5-4, come-from-behind victory over the hometown Rockford IceHogs, both of Jarvis’s snipes came on goal-mouth conversions of feeds from Jamieson Rees.

In a pandemic-related change, the Wolves are playing their home games in the cramped confines of the Triphahn Center Ice Arena rather than the cavernous Allstate Arena, their normal home.

“It’s a little bit different, especially in a league like the AHL where everyone’s big and physical, the rink seems a little bit smaller,” said Jarvis. “Especially a community centre, so it’s a little bit of an adjustment but we’ve practised and we’ve been training there for the last couple weeks, so it’s probably more of an adjustment for teams coming in than it is for us.”

The next move for Jarvis is likely to be a return to the WHL. The Winterhawks, who play in the five-team U.S. Division, are scheduled to begin an intradivisional schedule on March 19.

A return to play comes with a few complications for Portland, which due to pandemic restrictions in Oregon, is planning to practise in Vancouver, Wash., a 20-minute drive over the state line. The team is also booked to play games in Kent, Wash., home of the division rival Seattle Thunderbirds.

Players will quarantine at home until arriving in Portland on Feb. 27. They will be tested three times and if that goes well, the team could start practising on March 5.

“We would play our 12 home games there in Seattle and then if something happens that it opens up in Oregon here, which, by that time maybe April sometime it might, for games, we would (move them to Portland),” said Winterhawks general manager and head coach Mike Johnston. “The same with practices I expect.”

Jarvis would not need to quarantine because he is already in the U.S. but may remain in Chicago until closer to the start of play in the WHL.

“I think my plan is to stay here as long as possible to keep playing and keep training with these guys and then when it’s time for Portland’s season, start to head back there,” Jarvis said.

Last month, the Winterhawks released centre Jack O’Brien, right-winger James Stefan, defenceman Clay Hanus and centre Cross Hanas to play for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. Those player will finish the season in the USHL but return to the WHL in 2021-22 or earlier if Lincoln’s season ends prematurely.

“We could get them back and we anticipate playing till mid May,” said Johnston. “I think USHL goes to the end of April, so technically they might be available at that time to come back depending if Lincoln’s in the playoffs.”

 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14