Jarvis elevates production, stock before draft

Twenty-three points in 21 games?

Not too shabby for any member of the 2020 NHL Draft class.

But 75 points in his remaining 37 games?

The production, which included 32 goals and 43 assists, rocketed Seth Jarvis up the Western Hockey League scoring charts.

And up the NHL Draft rankings.

“I think it was my confidence,” said Jarvis, who totalled 98 points (42 goals, 56 assists) in 58 games for the Portland Winterhawks before the season was ultimately cancelled March 18 due to the ongoing uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus.

“In the first half it was just, I’m going to go out there and try to make as many plays as possible’, then in the second half it was, ‘I’m going to be the best player on the ice at all times.’ It just moved that way.”

Jarvis had one point, a goal, in five games prior to his incredibly hot tear.

He was held pointless just five times in his remaining outings.

“I think it’s a mixture of the hard work you put in and timing,” said Jarvis, originally selected by Portland in the first round (No. 11) of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. “I was playing with a really good winger on my line, Jaydon Dureau. He had a really good season that flew under the radar. With him helping me out everything clicked into place.

“That’s kind of how that all happened.”

Admittedly, it took the 17-year-old Jarvis longer than he would’ve liked to settle into his 2019-20 campaign — his second season in the WHL.

It took him longer than he would’ve liked to settle into the pressures of playing in his draft year, too.

“It’s a lot more stressful than I think people give it credit for,” Jarvis said. “You go through all that stuff and you can’t help but look at rankings and what comes out about it. It’s about managing how much you look at it and manage the time you’re looking at it and making sure it’s not interfering with how you’re playing on the ice.

“It’s big.

“It’s one thing I started to realize, that people are going to say what they want to say or rank where they want to, but I think as long as I put my best foot forward every time I step on my ice, at some point they’re not going to be able to deny what I’m showing them.”

There’s little denying Jarvis’ jump up those same rankings.

Jarvis was 68th in Future Considerations’ Preliminary ranking last June, and, after a slight bump to No. 67 in November’s Fall ranking, found himself just outside of the first round — 32nd overall — in the Winter ranking in January.

The 5-foot-10, 179-pound right wing settled into 16th in Future Considerations’ Spring ranking in early March.

It’s a warranted jump that has Jarvis firmly fixed inside the first round.

“Jarvis was on the radar since Day 1 in the 2019-2020 season, but obliterated the league offensively in the second half in unparalleled fashion,” Future Considerations head Western scout Justin Froese said. “He always had the motor and skill to be a contributor on any junior team as a 17-year-old, but as the year went on, he showed more confidence in his tools as he consistently put himself and others in the positions to succeed.

“Jarvis flourished as a focal player and grew his game in almost every aspect, showing a consistency every time he hit the ice which allowed him to be a constant threat which transpired to success.”

Jarvis doesn’t feel much different.

The Winnipeg, MB product feels he’s earned his first-round status.

Thanks, in large part, to a productive push in the second-half of the season that elevated Jarvis to second overall in league scoring.

“I do,” Jarvis said. “I think I really put the pedal to the metal that second half and really kind of thrusted myself into that first round, mid-first round, hopefully higher. There’s a lot of great players in the draft.

“I’m just hoping to hear my name called early.”