A crucial phone call interrupted his nap, transforming Seth Jarvis's plans and transforming him into an Olympian.
Anyone who knows Seth Jarvis knows just how important naps are to him.
The Carolina Hurricanes' 24-year-old star has long harped on the value of his midday recovery ritual and with Thursday being a game day — Carolina was set to take on the New York Rangers for their final game before the Olympic break — he was well into the middle of one.
But something lulled him from his deep slumber that afternoon.
His phone came alive, vibrating methodically, and his screen illuminated his Manhattan hotel room. A call was coming through.
However, Jarvis ignored it. Who'd be trying to reach him right now anyway, he thought.
After a bit, it stopped.
Then it rang again.
That's when Jarvis found out it wasn't just some spam caller. It was Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong calling to let him know that he was officially an Olympian.
"I picked up the second one, thankfully," Jarvis said. "I can't even explain it. It was incredible. Super honored."
Jarvis, who was left off of the initial roster despite winning gold with Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year earlier, became the second injury replacement for the Canadians, replacing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point, who suffered a knee injury on Jan. 12.
"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 said. "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."
The opportunity certainly adds to the sheer scope of the emotional range Jarvis has gone through throughout the whole process.
When he was initially snubbed, Jarvis took the news hard. He was one of just three skaters from the previous 4 Nations team to not receive an Olympic invitation.
But he took the high road and moved on from the disappointment.
"Sometimes you gotta eat a shit sandwich," Jarvis said back on Jan. 1. "You chew on it for a little bit and it doesn't taste too good, but you move on. This sucks and it's definitely a big blow and something I obviously really worked for and really wanted to achieve, but there's nothing you can do about it now. I gave myself a couple of days to take it in, feel emotions and now it's just moving past and getting ready for the rest of the season."
He was asked again about the Olympics actually earlier this week too. If his recent strong play could be a late showcase for the Team Canada brass, to which he responded, "I think I blew that opportunity already. I think that parts done."
Funny how life works out sometimes.
The Hurricanes star forward brings a lot to the table for the Canadians.
Jarvis is one of the best two-way wingers in hockey, who combines a relentless motor, with a high hockey IQ, speed and skill.
His 25 goals lead Carolina in scoring and with 43 points in 48 games as well, he can do almost anything on the offensive side of the puck.
But, as previously stated, he's tremendous defensively too, able to play a bottom-six grinding role, kill penalties and capitalize on opponents' mistakes.
Jarvis is a versatile player, who can fill in on any spot Canada may need him to play, and when you add in an already existing familiarity with the team and the systems from having played at 4 Nations, you can see why he was selected.
"It is nice to know the guys and have a familiarity with the systems and stuff like that," Jarvis said. "Having a little bit of an idea of what's going on. It definitely makes it a little bit easier, having a relationship with a lot of those guys already, so it's not quite as intimidating as it was at 4 Nations, but just excited to get around all the guys and head over there."
But getting over there will be bit of a battle of its own.
You see, Jarvis had already made plans to fly out to Cabo on Friday for a few weeks relaxing in the sun. Safe to say, that's not happening any more.
"Obviously love warm weather, but this is absolutely a great reason not to go," Jarvis said.
He'll hope to get some money back on a few refunds, but on top of that, he now has to fly back to Raleigh, pack for two weeks of hockey, then fly back to New York to catch Team Canada's charter flight to Italy on Saturday.
"It's been a whirlwind," Jarvis said. "There's been a lot of phone calls, a lot of questions I've had. I've reached out to a couple of guys, just basically on what to pack because I have no idea what's going on. Hopefully figuring out flights and everything, but yeah. I guess just go home, throw some stuff in a suitcase and head back here as soon as possible."
But he couldn't care less about that hassle.
To be an Olympian, to live out a life long dream of representing his country on the world's biggest stage, playing alongside legendary players who he grew up watching, idolizing, is all he could have ever asked for.
He was just eight years old when he saw Sidney Crosby, the player whose poster still adorns to door to his childhood bedroom in Winnipeg, score the Golden Goal.
Now he's teammates with him, aiming to win yet another gold medal for Canada.
To Jarvis, all of the struggles, the pain, the sacrifices. Everything he's been through over the years, it was all worth it for this opportunity.
"To be able to play at the highest level on a stage like this is everyone's dream," Jarvis said, his voice cracking as he fought through the emptions of the moment. "To be able to do it with my family too is going to be fun."
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