Hurricanes rookie Seth Jarvis makes his point early: He wants to stay on the roster
Seth Jarvis had the ice all to himself in a darkened PNC Arena on Sunday.
It has become NHL tradition that rookies go on the ice first to skate a “solo lap” when they’re making their NHL debut. Jarvis said afterward that he had one thought on his mind as the spotlights followed him around the ice:
“Don’t fall on the puck and don’t toe-pick,” Jarvis said, smiling.
Jarvis might have had in mind Brandon Duhaime of the Minnesota Wild, a rookie forward who stumbled on his solo earlier this season when he tripped over a puck.
Jarvis was fine, though, no stumbles.
“After I got past that I was super excited,” Jarvis said.
Soon, Jarvis was taking the ice again for his first shift alongside center Derek Stepan and winger Steven Lorentz. He also had another quick thought: “Holy crap, I’m in the NHL.”
“After that I calmed my emotions and it was just another hockey game,” Jarvis said.
Well, maybe.
“Just another hockey game” became the Canes’ eighth straight win, a 2-1 comeback victory decided by Brett Pesce’s power-play goal with 2:27 remaining in regulation.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour showed his confidence and trust in his second power-play unit, sending it out first after Andrei Svechnikov had drawn a cross-checking penalty. Another sign of trust: Jarvis was on it.
Jarvis, 19, was in the lineup Sunday after forward Nino Niederreiter when down Friday against Chicago with a lower-body injury that Brind’Amour said will keep him out a few weeks. While slotted on the fourth line, Jarvis did slip into Niederreiter’s slot on the power play.
Positioned on the left side of the umbrella set, Jarvis had the secondary assist as Pesce got off a one-timer from the point that nicked the right shoulder of goalie Karel Vejmelka.
Just like that: First game, first NHL point.
“From the first day of (training) camp, he stood out to me,” Pesce said. “He’s not the biggest guy but he’s not afraid to get into those corners and get feisty. He’s got tons of skill and you love seeing guys compete in those corners and win puck battles.”
Brind’Amour likes seeing it, too. He realizes Jarvis has a lot of skill. That’s a big reason the Canes took the speedy 5-9, 175-pound forward in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft, the 13th overall pick. But to play for Brind’Amour, that compete factor, all over the ice, has to be there.
Brind’Amour’s assessment of the rookie’s debut?
“First game with no nerves at all. I think that’s what makes him special,” BrindAmour said Sunday. “He’s out there at the end, on the power play and in big, huge moments making plays. It was a great game for him especially for a first one.”
While Jarvis had that “holy crap” moment on his first shift, he also had a welcome-to-the-NHL moment. Coyotes forward Jay Beagle sent him to the ice in front of the benches early in the game.
“I realized I was playing with men again,” Jarvis said. “It was definitely a wake-up moment, but it was something I needed.”
Jarvis was active and engaged in his 10 minutes of ice time. He nearly scored in the second period although he didn’t have the “puck luck” of the Wild’s Duhaime, who scored his first NHL goal when he dropped his stick near the crease, leaned over to pick it up and had a shot go off his skate.
But Jarvis will get his in time, and should have more games to play with Niederreiter out.
Jarvis, asked about Niederreiter’s injury, said he hoped the winger would be back “as soon as possible.” Neiderreiter had joined center Jordan Staal and winger Jesper Fast on the Canes’ steadiest line in the early season. Losing him is a big loss, Brind’Amour said again Sunday.
For much of camp, the question was whether the Canes would keep Jarvis on the roster this season or return him to his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League — the Canes’ only two options. Jarvis can play nine NHL games before the first year of his entry-level contact activates.
Early in training camp, Jarvis said his goal was to “make the team” and stay on the Canes roster all season.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make my way on there and make their decision as hard as possible,” he said in an N&O interview. “I want to put my best foot forward and show what I can do.”
Sunday was a good start.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 2:17 PM.
