Team Canada made another change due to Brayden Point's injury. Adding Carolina Hurricanes star Seth Jarvis instead of Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman is the right decision.
Team Canada had to make some last-minute roster changes before the men's hockey tournament starts next week, which revived the debate of who should make the team.
After replacing Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli with Panthers center Sam Bennett, Canada replaced injured Lightning center Brayden Point with Carolina Hurricanes right winger Seth Jarvis.
The appointment of Jarvis is particularly intriguing because Brayden Point was Connor McDavid's linemate at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, and Edmonton Oilers right winger Zach Hyman could have filled that role. But choosing Jarvis over Hyman – and really, anybody else – makes a ton of sense.
Not only is Jarvis a versatile, low-maintenance choice who can play any forward position up and down the lineup, but he's also got crucial experience after being part of Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off championship team last year.
And whether Jarvis plays or not, he will make an impact on the Canadians as they strive for their first gold medal in men's hockey since 2014.
"Obviously you never want to see somebody go down, especially Pointer, someone I model a lot of my game after, someone I have a ton of respect for and someone at 4 Nations I grew pretty close to and really enjoyed being around," Jarvis told reporters on Thursday, including The Hockey News' Ryan Henkel. "It sucks that this is kind of the way it had to go, but now my job is to focus on helping the team in any way I can, whether that's playing games, just being a great teammate off the ice or just doing whatever I can to contribute."
Given that Canadian GM Doug Armstrong added Bennett to replace Cirelli, it seems like having the pedigree that came with being a 4 Nations Face-Off champion made it perfect sense that Jarvis replaced Point and can fit in seamlessly.
Hyman surely would have been a solid choice to be McDavid's linemate at the Olympics. Not long after he made his delayed season debut, Hyman helped McDavid record a 20-game point streak and a 1.77 points-per-game average.
Hyman also has 22 goals and 14 assists in 39 games this season, while Jarvis has 25 goals and 18 assists in 49 games.
But Jarvis can be a playmaker as easily as he can be a scorer. Last year, he had 32 goals and 35 assists in 73 games last season. Hyman, on the other hand, had 27 goals and 17 assists in 73 games.
In an even bigger difference, Jarvis averages 1:40 of penalty-kill time this season, whereas Hyman does not kill penalties.
Thus, it's fair to say Hyman is just a little bit more one-dimensional – emphasis on "a little bit" – than Jarvis.
Canada coach Jon Cooper has plenty of first-hand experience with Bennett and Jarvis, having seen them up close and repeatedly. He knows what they can do without having to do some last-minute studying, and he also knows they'll happily play whatever role is assigned to them.
The same undoubtedly would've been true had Hyman been Armstrong's choice – and Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard also would've been a terrific choice as an injury replacement. But the Canadian lineup is as stacked as any Olympic team, and bringing in Jarvis and Bennett is a choice Armstrong can proudly stand behind.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.