NEW YORK -- Seth Jarvis doesn't know where or if he fits in Canada's lineup at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but clearly the Carolina Hurricanes forward is ready for just about any role.
"I'll play [expletive] right 'D' if they need me to," Jarvis told NHL.com.
The 4 Nations Face-Off begins Wednesday, when Canada plays Sweden at Bell Centre in Montreal (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).
Jarvis, the youngest player on Canada's roster (he turned 23 on Feb. 1), has spent the better part of the past two-plus months growing comfortable and confident with the notion that he belongs in the tournament and in the same dressing room as Canadian superstars like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
"Over the past couple of weeks I've started to realize that I am there for a reason and I deserve to be there," Jarvis said.
He wasn't sure at first. He said he was shocked he made it.
"I didn't even know if I was in the running for it," Jarvis said.
When he found out he made it, Jarvis said he called his brother, Kayden, the video and skills coach for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. Kayden, who doubles as the skills coach for his younger brother, had the same reaction.
"He was like, 'What the [expletive] are you talking about?' " Jarvis said. "We were both surprised."
They're not anymore.
"It shows my hard work has paid off that I'm in this position now," Jarvis said.
Jarvis arrives at the 4 Nations Face-Off courtesy of a personal four-year revenge tour.
He was one of the last cuts from Canada's roster for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
"Especially as a Canadian kid the World Juniors is such a big thing and so not being able to play in it really [stunk]," Jarvis said. "That was the first time I've really ever been cut from a team so that was a new feeling. It was a massive driving force into everything that transpired after."
Canada lost to the United States in the gold-medal game of the 2021 World Juniors.
Not a single player from that Canadian team was selected to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Jarvis was.
"But it's not something I'm focused on," Jarvis said. "I'm focused on myself. What happened in the past happened. I can't change that. The fact that I (made it and they didn't) is cool, but not something I'm fixated on or trying to use as pride."
Instead, Jarvis feels pride in knowing he earned his spot on Canada's roster even if it is as the 13th forward, or maybe even a right-shot defenseman.
Canada general manager Don Sweeney said Jarvis' versatility was key in his selection. This season he has thrived playing on Carolina's top line with Sebastian Aho and on its third line with Jordan Staal. He plays on the penalty kill and the power play.
Jarvis has the third most points on the Hurricanes, with 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists) in 48 games.
"Really smart hockey player," Sweeney said of Jarvis. "One of the unique things that we saw during the course of the fall was he had been slotted around a couple different lines. They moved (forward Jack) Roslovic up in their lineup. He was on a heater and playing with Aho, and they moved Jarvis down to play in a shutdown role, and that was intriguing to us to realize, like, 'Hold on now, he can go play with Aho in a productive offensively tilted role, but he can also go down and play against the best players on the shutdown side of things.' That’s versatility that we appreciated and identified."
Combine the versatility with Jarvis' in-your-face, high-compete style of play and Canada should know exactly what it will get from him no matter the role he plays.
"Hard working. Gritty. Smart. Skilled," Hurricanes and United States defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "He knows the game well. He plays really hard. He's responsible. As a defenseman you love playing with him. You know if you give him the puck something good might happen but you know if it's coming back toward us he's going to be coming back to help."
Added Staal, "He kind of does everything. He thinks the game very well. He's very quick. He's not shy to go in dirty areas, not shy to come out with the puck. Great hands. Great shot. Very funny, very vocal and lots of energy."
Staal is also describing Jarvis' personality. He said Jarvis changed the dynamic in the Hurricanes dressing room when he got to the team in 2021-22 after being the No. 13 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
"You can be energetic and just kind of be useless, but I want to be energetic and I want to have a purpose where I'm using that energy and using it for a good cause," Jarvis said. "It's taken a little bit of time to channel it into doing something good with it, but it is my personality."
Jarvis’ energy is infectious. In fact, Brad Marchand answered Jarvis when he was asked to name the player he's most excited to play with in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"For me personally, that meant a lot," Jarvis said. "He could have said anybody on that team and he picked someone that who knows if I'll even be in the starting lineup, but someone that's newer to the team, the young guy that doesn't really know anybody. To pick me and make me feel like I'm a part of the team and make me feel welcome was really nice."
But now that the tournament is here Jarvis just wants to play. There will always be that special feeling of earning this opportunity, of going from being the last cut in 2021 to maybe the last forward picked in 2025, but all Jarvis wants is a role and a chance to prove he's worth it.
"Any position they need me at," he said.
Even right-shot ‘D’.
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report
