Jarvis answers call to join Team Canada at Milano Cortina

NEW YORK -- Seth Jarvis was deep into his pregame nap Thursday afternoon when his phone rang. He let it go to voicemail because he didn't know who was calling.

It rang again. This time he picked up. Let's just say that was the smart move.

On the other end of the call was Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong ready to give Jarvis, the Carolina Hurricanes forward, some of the best news he will ever receive.

Jarvis, who leads the Hurricanes with 25 goals this season, found out right then that he was selected to replace Brayden Point on Canada's roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Point, the Tampa Bay Lightning forward, was ruled out of the tournament because of an undisclosed injury.

"Great reason to interrupt my nap," Jarvis said after Carolina's 2-0 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. "I take those pretty seriously, but for that reason I'm more than happy to wake up. He just broke the news to me. I probably sounded a little groggy, not sure what was going on just yet, but as soon as I heard those words, just so much excitement."

Jarvis played at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, but he was one of Team Canada's final cuts to get it down to the 25-man Olympic roster that was announced on Dec. 31.

However, he was one of the players who was told to stay ready because he could get a call to join the team in Milan as an injury replacement.

That didn't stop him from booking a trip to Cabo San Lucas for the Olympic break.

He won't be taking it.

"Obviously, I love warm weather, but this is absolutely a great reason not to go," Jarvis said.

Instead, Jarvis has been scrambling to get his travel plans in order.

He was set to return to Raleigh, North Carolina, with the Hurricanes after the game Thursday, but he has to come right back because he will be leaving for Milan with the rest of the NHL players on charter flights out of New York on Saturday.

"There's been a lot of phone calls, a lot of questions that I've had," Jarvis said. "I've reached out to a couple of guys just basically what to pack because I have no idea what's going on. Hopefully figuring out flights and everything. I guess just go home, throw some stuff in a suitcase and head back here as soon as possible."

Jarvis called the few hours before playing the game Thursday a whirlwind, but it helps that he's joining a group of players at the Olympics that he has played with before.

He had an assist and played three of four games at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Nineteen of Canada's 23 players from that tournament are going to the Olympics. Canada will also have the same coaching staff, led by Jon Cooper.

"It is nice to know the guys and have a familiarity with the systems and stuff like that, have a bit of an idea of what's going on," Jarvis said. "It makes it definitely a little bit easier. I have a relationship with a lot of those guys already, so it's not quite as intimidating as it was at the 4 Nations. Just excited to get around all the guys and head over there."

Jarvis, though, said he feels for Point and wishes he didn't have to make the team this way. He said he grew close to Point through the 4 Nations experience and models a lot of his game after the Lightning forward.

"It [stinks] that this is the way it had to go, but now my job is to focus on helping the team any way I can, whether that's playing games, being a great teammate off the ice, just doing whatever I can to contribute," Jarvis said.

He will join Carolina teammates Sebastian Aho (Finland), Jaccob Slavin (United States), Frederik Andersen (Denmark) and Nikolaj Ehlers (Denmark) in Milan.

"Just happy for him," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "That's the toughest team to make in the world, that and the U.S. team. You could pick a lot of good players that get left off, so it was no snub that he didn't initially. It's just there are so many good players. I hate that other guys are going to miss for him to get in there, but happy that he's getting that opportunity."