BOSTON — Seth Jarvis wasn’t just cut from Canada’s World Juniors team four years ago. He was so gutted by the decision, he couldn’t even watch the games played without him.
“I had some buddies playing in it, but I couldn’t do it,” Jarvis told The Athletic. “It made me sick to my stomach.”
You can only imagine the stark difference in emotions Jarvis woke up with Thursday after learning he’d be drawing back into Team Canada’s lineup for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against the U.S. at TD Garden. It will be the biggest game of his life.
Inserting Jarvis on the fourth line with Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett was the only lineup change Jon Cooper elected to make following Monday’s 5-3 win over Finland. Jarvis replaces Travis Konecny. It’s a big vote of confidence in the team’s youngest player, who played the opening two games of the tournament against Sweden and the U.S. before getting scratched Monday.
For Jarvis, being one of the last Canadian cuts ahead of the 2021 World Juniors was a life-changing moment. As a No. 13 pick of the Carolina Hurricanes and a big-time scorer with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, he expected to make that team.
“I was crushed,” Jarvis said. “I was absolutely devastated. That’s something as a kid you grow up, especially in Canada, that’s the tournament you always want to play in. It’s something you watch on TV every Christmas, so to miss out on that hurt a lot. It’s something that I’ve definitely kept in the back of my mind. Still to this day, it’s something I use as motivation.”
The work the 23-year-old from Winnipeg put in afterward has clearly paid off. None of the players selected ahead of him for that World Juniors team made this 4 Nations roster, which the Hurricanes highlighted after Jarvis was selected in December.
Jarvy was left off Canada’s World Junior Championship team in 2021.
He just made Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster. So proud of this kid ❤️ pic.twitter.com/k3lZHToR9r
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 5, 2024
When Jarvis reflects on where his game was four years ago, he sees a one-dimensional player.
“That one dimension was scoring goals,” he said with a laugh.
With both the Hurricanes and Team Canada, he’s now a trusted penalty killer and dogged forechecker. In bringing him back into the lineup for a game that will likely be tightly contested on Thursday, Cooper is looking for an energy boost from Jarvis and perhaps a forced turnover or two.
Interestingly, it’s a former Canadian national team player whom Jarvis credits most for the growth in his game: Rod Brind’Amour, his coach in Carolina. Brind’Amour wore his country’s colors at three world championships, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and 1998 Winter Olympics.
While Jarvis still contributes offensively with 45 points in 49 games for Carolina, Brind’Amour has pushed him to become a reliable player on both sides of the puck.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roddy,” Jarvis said. “You’re not playing as a young guy if you’re not going to be good defensively, and he made that abundantly clear to me. That’s been something he’s helped me a lot with, and just working on the small details of my game.
“It’s almost like he had a bigger picture in mind and he knew this might be an opportunity for me, so he’s been a great help in developing those parts of my game to give me a chance like this.”
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
