Jarvis' traveling party follows Hurricanes forward to Stanley Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Seth Jarvis' traveling band of friends from Winnipeg followed him to Milan to play in the 2026 Winter Olympics for Canada, so they weren't going to miss watching the Carolina Hurricanes forward play in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time.

Jarvis said a group of six will be at Lenovo Center to cheer him on in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

"Those guys are family," the 24-year-old Winnipeg native said after the morning skate. "Those guys are as close to brothers as I'll ever get, so it's incredible to have people like that in my life and guys that are willing to drop everything and travel to come support me."

Jarvis' friends drove 30 hours from Winnipeg to Boston to watch him play in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against the United States last season and have made a few trips to Hurricanes games, including to be the "siren sounders" that revved up the crowd before Carolina hosted the Philadelphia Flyers for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round.

The Hurricanes immediately fell behind 2-0 in that game, so Jarvis was worried briefly that they wouldn't be invited back. Carolina rallied to win 3-2 in overtime, though, with Jarvis scoring the tying goal in the third period.

That was Jarvis' first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after going without one in his first five games, so he considers them to be good luck charms despite the Hurricanes' shaky start in that game.

"They scared me, for sure," said Jarvis, who has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 13 playoff games. "I think they definitely are good luck, though. It's awesome when they can come and support me."

Jarvis' teammates have gotten used to seeing his buddies around and appreciate the energy they bring. 

"They have a good time, that's for sure," linemate Sebastian Aho said. 

They are similar in that way to Jarvis.

"They're obviously a lot of fun," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. "They're, obviously, true friends, great supporters of 'Jarv' and are willing to go miles to support their friend. They're a lot of fun, but you know they're competitive guys too. They want to win, and they want to support Jarv and all those things. 

"So, they're here to have fun, but also it looks like they're ready to support Jarv when he's working."

Jarvis has already shared some exciting moments with his friends through his five NHL seasons. He isn't sure if they ever imagined they'd end up at the Cup Final with him.

Playing in the Cup Final is something he's been envisioning for a while, though, with the Hurricanes reaching the conference final three times in four seasons before breaking through this season.

"Being here the last couple years, I knew this definitely was a possibility," Jarvis said. "So, I'm just super happy to be able to be here and share the moment with the guys in the room and my buddies back home."