Jarvis To Miss The Start Of The Season: Now What?

RALEIGH, N.C. - When the Carolina Hurricanes begin their title defense this month, they'll be doing so without a key piece to their championship-winning lineup.

Finally undergoing shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff he sustained during the 2023-24 season, forward Seth Jarvis was ruled out for "probably four to six months" by General Manager Eric Tulsky in June.

Although the team has hope that his return will come "on the shorter end" of that timeline, a best-case scenario likely sees #24 back with the group come the end of October. Given the team's history with erring on the side of caution in these situations, a late-December return is also entirely possible.

With the 2026-27 regular season getting underway soon, it will be an extended trial run for someone to establish themselves as a part of Rod Brind'Amour's roster.

Below are a few options for who could be in the mix when training camp gets going.

Bradly Nadeau

As soon as Tulsky revealed Jarvis' procedure at his draft press availability, he was asked in the moments immediately following whether it was a spot the team's first-round pick in 2023 could fill. Although the GM was noncommittal, he made it clear it is a possibility.

Seemingly the frontrunner, Nadeau's list of accolades over just two seasons in the American Hockey League is already long.

AHL All-Rookie Team? Yup.

AHL Top Prospects Team? Yup.

AHL All-Star? Yup.

Producing 114 points in 116 AHL games, it feels like there's not much left for the 21-year-old to accomplish with the Chicago Wolves.

After becoming just the sixth teenager in the history of the AHL to score 30 goals in his inaugural go-around, the 2025-26 season was one of defensive growth for him, while still producing near a point-per-game. Killing penalties and defending leads late in games, both of those items are responsibilities that Jarvis himself had to grow into.

Scoring his first NHL goal on Oct. 30 against the Islanders, he went on to add two more over 12 total games with the big club last season. Now, he might be in line for his longest trial yet.

"He's been great (in the AHL). He had, sort of, two call-up stints this past year. I thought in the first one, he looked like someone who was acclimating for the first time. In the second one, he looked like someone who was acclimated. You could see the progression," praised the Canes' GM. "He absolutely will be in the conversation if we need a call-up at the start of the year. I think it would be a good opportunity for him to get some runway."

Felix Unger Sorum

It's been an interesting few years for the team's second-round pick in 2023.

After hanging around and making it all the way until the team's final cuts of training camp as an 18-year-old that fall, Unger Sorum became a heartthrob for the fan base. Coming over to North America the following season, his first campaign in Chicago (AHL) was one of adjustment, totaling just 20 points in 61 games and finishing -10 on a playoff team.

But no prospect affiliated with the Canes took a bigger jump forward during the 2025-26 season than he did. Ranking seventh among all AHL skaters with his 66 points in 72 games, Unger Sorum looked like a massively leveled-up version of himself.

Holding onto pucks a little bit longer and making plays that he had yet to make in his pro career, his vision and passing ability led him to 49 assists, which finished tied for third among AHL skaters.

Rewarded with an end-of-season NHL call-up, in which he recorded his first point on his first shift, Unger Sorum enters the 2026-27 journey with a lot of momentum behind him from the campaign before.

Justin Robidas

Perhaps considered a dark horse option, the 2021 fifth-round pick has excelled at every level he's played at.

Those watching him play for the first time will almost always comment on his size, a listed 5-foot-8, 178 lbs., but haven't we dispelled that need? Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake have been just fine.

After winning the Memorial Cup with Quebec (QMJHL) to wrap up his junior days, Robidas started his pro career in the ballpark of being a point-per-game player with Norfolk (ECHL). Over the last two seasons with Chicago (AHL), he's turned in 115 points in 128 games.

Making his NHL debut at the end of the 2024-25 season, he remained a call-up option for Carolina last season, appearing in a pair of contests.

A responsible, two-way forward, Robidas can play the middle or the wing. Despite being just 23, he carries himself like a seasoned veteran, as evidenced by his wearing an "A" for the Wolves last season.

It would not be shocking at all to see him get a sniff with Jarvis on the shelf.