Jarvis Adjusting To Life In The NHL

RALEIGH, NC. - For most young hockey players, all they can ask for is a shot.

"I remember driving down to Portland thinking that I was going to camp there, be good, be a leader, have fun, then go to Carolina and try my best. But I remember seeing on Twitter people were saying that it was going to be a long shot to make the team and that I was going to have to blow the doors off at camp. So I was thinking, 'Well, I at least have to give it a shot."

That shot? It worked.

Not only did it work to earn him a spot on the opening night roster for the Carolina Hurricanes, but it's also worked to earn eight goals for Seth Jarvis already this season.

The now 20-year-old has become a staple in the team's lineup, as the club has emerged as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in his first season pro. While his seemingly solidified position within the forward group wasn't something he could have predicted in September, he arrived in Raleigh with no expectations, just handling what was within his control.

"Any time anybody, Rod or Don, would sit down with me, they would always say just take it day-by-day. For most of camp, I was in that second group with the younger guys who were going to be heading to Chicago, and then I think the last two days of camp, I made it to the actual team practice group. I thought that that might be a good sign," Jarvis reflected on training camp.

Ineligible to play at the American Hockey League (AHL) level due to the NHL-CHL agreement, Don Waddell and staff knew that there was no middle ground for Jarvis.

Already having totaled 166 points in 154 games with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, there was an understanding that he had very little left to accomplish there, at least in terms of production. However, there were some concerns defensively over whether he was ready to hang on the 23-man roster in Raleigh.

And so, after his electric offensive performances in the club's preseason games forced the hand of management, the decision was made in the middle of October. The energetic young man from Winnipeg was going to stick around, at least for the nine-game trial allowed before the first year of his entry-level contract kicked in.

"For like the next two months, I was living in the hotel every day, just kind of scared, you know like, when am I going to get sent back? Then I didn't play the first handful of games, so I was just kind of sitting there. When I finally played, I had that ten-game window and again I was like, well, I've got to do something here."
As each day leading up to Monday, November 22, in San Jose became more and more tense for the 2020 first-round selection, it was even more nerve-wracking for Seth's mom, Tracey, who would wait each day for news.

"In our position, we were holding our breath more than he was," she stated with a laugh. "It was day by day for us too. We'd text, we'd ask how it's going and he'd give us an update, and then when we reached the ten-game mark, we were really wondering what was going to happen. Were they going to keep him? Were they going to send him back to Portland? What's going to happen?"

Then came decision day, amid a six-game West Coast road swing for the club.

"Rod was like, 'You're going to stay up with us for a while.' Everything kind of settled down from there," Seth reflected, remembering the relief he felt to receive the news.
"I was sitting in my classroom at the end of the day, and the kids had just left, and I got the text from him saying that he was playing the next day and that he was going to stay. I was just so proud and so happy for him," the happy hockey mom recalled of the day with a beaming sense of joy. "He was realizing his dream, but also at the same time, I was thinking, what the heck is going on? What are we doing? It seemed a little bit surreal."

Jarvis remained in the hotel for a short while before finding a temporary residency with teammate Sebastian Aho. The club's top-line center had room for the rookie at his place, extending the olive branch to get him into a more home-like setting.

"I overheard in the room that he was still in the hotel, and it wasn't the best situation," Aho said when asked why he welcomed the rookie into his home. "He'd been there for months, and that's not ideal, right? So I offered for him to come live with me."

"That was really nice of him. I was about to lose my mind in [the hotel]," Jarvis continued. "When you're on the road for a while and then you come back and your house is still a hotel, it's not exactly a nice, peaceful feeling. So living with Fishy was great, it worked out really well. We both even had COVID at the same time, so we quarantined together and the whole nine."

Including their journey together via ambulance from Vancouver to Seattle after the two had tested positive in Canada on December 13, the entire situation was a bonding experience that helped Jarvis both settle down and develop another relationship within the locker room. Although his NHL career is just a young five months old, he's already pinpointed the kindness of the team's number one center as one of the things he'll be most grateful for when he looks back on his rookie year.

"We lived together for about a month and a half. We'd just hang out, eat dinners, play some ping pong, XBOX, PlayStation, it was pretty normal," Aho went on to describe the situation. "We didn't do anything crazy, but one thing I will say is that he was always on time. I'd tell him the night before that we'd leave at 9 a.m., and 8:59 a.m., he was ready. He was always in the same spot waiting for me, so that was nice to not have to worry about that."

Now with a place of his own, Jarvis will be the first to tell you that his cleanliness may not have been top tier through the adjustment. However, he's proud of the fact that it's gotten much better.

"It was a little scary at the start, but I think it was scarier for my parents," the right-handed forward said with a chuckle. "I got my own place and I was like, 'Oh my god, I can do whatever I want.' I didn't realize you actually have to do when you live on your own. Plus, this isn't even a house, this is a tiny one-bedroom apartment."
Perhaps his favorite part about making the move to a place of his own was that there are several other members of the team that live in the same apartment complex, including Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

"I go to KK's for dinner a lot and he cooks for me, which is nice so I don't have to order out all the time, because I can't cook anything," he said with another youthful laugh. Sharing that Kotkaniemi's specialty is tacos and that he also excels at making burgers, Jarvis has no complaints with any dining offerings provided by his fellow first-year Cane.

"He's made some really good connections with the Finnish group," Tracey Jarvis continued with a laugh. "They invited him for Christmas dinner because he couldn't come home. They've looked out for him. They've made us feel so much better about having our son living so far away. I can't say enough about the organization and the players that are there. They've set our minds at ease almost immediately."

Seth may or may not have had to work for that holiday dinner, though.

With over 30 games left to go in the regular season, Jarvis is also learning more about what it's like to live alone, in addition to Kotkaniemi's cooking skills.
The most games "Jarvy" has played in any season of hockey is 61, his first year in Portland. Since then, a pandemic-shortened campaign and a season spent split between Chicago (AHL) and a return to the WHL, which still only combined for 33 games. Now on pace to play 65 in his first year with Carolina, he's learning about the wear and tear of what it takes to play in an 82-game marathon.

"I've had to learn how to take care of my body, especially now that we're playing so many games in such a short period of time. It's crucial," he shared. "Every day is a battle, both in a practice in the game. Being able to take care of my body has been important so I can play every second day at my peak performance and I can help the team."

What does that mean exactly?

When you're 19, or 20, you're looked at as a source of energy for the team, full of life and spark. While it's okay to be that at the rink, Jarvis has learned that his life as a whole doesn't always have to be in the fast lane.

"I don't need to go a million miles an hour doing everything. I can take time to relax and that's okay. I don't have to leave practice and have to go do something. I can go home, nap, wake up, eat dinner and go to bed. I've learned I can take it easy."

While Jarvis has recorded 11 assists for his team thus far this season, his clear favorite is one that he's picked up off the rink.

Commonly when a player gets their first NHL contract they'll buy themself something nice to reward themselves for all their hard work and earning something most kids only dream of achieving. Jarvis though? He paid it back to his parents, beaming with joy when sharing that he bought his mom a new car.

"I think I told her when I was like eight, 'hey, I'm going to buy you a car one day," and she was like, "yeah whatever."

Turns out he was able to make good on his promise, as his mom is now the proud owner of a new SUV.

"I was just so happy I could do that for her," he continued, visibly thrilled about being able to bring the goal to life. "The car she was driving, the one door wouldn't shut, the one door wouldn't open, there was no heat, no A/C. She drove it since I was a kid, so it lasted for a while, but being able to help her out and to see her in a new car made me feel really good. It was something I'd been dreaming of doing."

"He had been asked when he got drafted what he'd like to buy and he said he'd like to get me a car, but that was before he signed the contract," Tracey shared. "But then when he was actually able to do it, it couldn't have come at a better time. Our van had been terrific for years and was filled with memories of picking his hockey buddies up from their practices in Winnipeg, but my husband, who teaches high school, had the power mechanics teacher take a look at it and informed us that we couldn't put it back on the road. And so that's when Seth stepped in."

"It was the coolest moment of my life, I'm so happy that I was able to do that for her," the budding star concluded with a smile.

It's not just that he did it though, it's that he took care of his parents before he even went out and got himself something nice.

"He hasn't bought himself anything big at all. It really was just what he wanted to do," Tracey Jarvis continued. "I think it speaks to his personality and how much he cares about others. He would help anyone out at the drop of the hat. You could tell he wanted to do it and that made us feel good too because that's his money. You don't want to have him feel like he has to do something for us. We did what we did for him out of love and to watch him pursue something he loved. It was really special that he did that."

Although the last five months have been a dream come true for the Jarvis family, Seth hopes that five months is just a small sample of what's to come in his career.

Now that he's realized his dream of making the roster, has taken strides forward in learning about what it takes to be a professional, and was able to provide his mom a new set of wheels, the attention's turned to taking his game to a new level on the ice.

"I just want to get better every day. I want to get more comfortable with my game and continue to get more comfortable around the rink with everybody. I want to keep being an energy source for the team, I want to be able to be trusted. I think my defensive game has gotten better, which is nice, and I just want to keep having fun."