This time last year Jarvis was coming off of an attention-grabbing showing in the Prospect Showcase, skating with the second group to start the big club's Training Camp. The meteoric rise continued though and not only did he impress the coaching staff and the media, but his new teammates as well - including those that have been well traveled.
"We only had four preseason games but you noticed him right away. And I didn't know a whole lot about him," Derek Stepan looked back with. "When the year started he was watching some games and he kind of just developed from there. As the season went on, he progressed and progressed."
Stepan and Jarvis developed a relationship after the veteran forward did his best to take the youngster under his wing during last year's camp. The two would then go on to play together as linemates for Jarvis' first few games. But within a span of 365 days Stepan says he's gone from picking on him for being a rookie, to now picking on him because he's a superstar.
"The way I look at him hasn't changed. He's still Jarvy, the kid, but I think the task in front of him should be fun for him and I bet he's looking forward to it," Stepan continued.
That task?
Finding a way to top his first year, which concluded with 40 points in 68 regular season games, in addition to eight points in 14 playoff contests.
Finding a way to be even better sounds like a tall order, but the messaging now from Stepan to Jarvis is that he can't treat it as if there's pressure on him.
"He can't think that way. There's no pressure. Every day he just has to come in here and work as hard as he did last year, maybe even a little bit more. He'll have to continue to get better every day," Stepan, entering his 13th pro season, furthered. "It's like a firecracker. If you put it in the palm of your hand and it goes off, it won't hurt as bad. But as soon as you close your hand on it and internalize it, that pressure will be very hard to handle. There will be bumps in the road, there always is in anybody's career, but there's going to be high moments, too. He just has to keep learning how to handle them. He's young, but he's ready for it."