PROSPECT PROFILE: Seth Jarvis

EDMONTON, AB -To say the 2019-20 Western Hockey League season was going well for Seth Jarvis would be quite an understatement.
The 18-year-old forward was the leading scorer on the top team in the league when the season was abruptly halted on March 12 and the upcoming playoffs were cancelled on March 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jarvis had tallied 42 goals and 56 assists for 98 points in 58 games prior to the stoppage, and his Portland Winterhawks led the WHL with an exemplary 45-11-3-4 record. The Winnipeg native ranked second among all WHL scorers and had 28 more points than his next highest-scoring teammate.
"The season getting cancelled was horrible," Jarvis said on Friday's episode of Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer. "I think we had a team that could have done some damage in the playoffs and hopefully made a run at the Memorial Cup. Knowing what we could have done made it sting a little more."

Disappointment aside, Jarvis said he's still been "enjoying the process" of navigating his year of eligibility for the NHL Draft, which would have been held in June under normal circumstances. The 2020 edition is now tentaively scheduled for October 9-10, following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound right-winger/centreman is the 11th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting and said he tries to model his game after Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point, a fellow WHL product who played for the Moose Jaw Warriors.
"I'm someone that plays with tons of competitiveness," Jarvis said. "That's what drives my game. I love to compete, I love to get after it. When I'm playing the game, I'm playing freely. I love to make plays, I like to play fast, I like to move the puck up the ice and jump into holes. When I'm doing that, a lot of offence comes my way.
"Creating chances for myself and for my teammates is what my game really thives on. And then being able to be trusted in the D zone and being able to play in late-game situations is something that I've really put into my game and taken the next step with."
It's entirely possible the Oilers could have the chance to select Jarvis in the opening round, since they hold the 14th-overall selection, and the feisty forward said he'd be thrilled with the opportunity to join a team that features Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
"Those are two world-class players," Jarvis said. "When you think of the best players in the league, those two guys come right to mind. They're the first one-two punch. Any chance you get to play with a player of that calibre, either on their line or even just on the same team, only good things will rub off. That's something everyone would want to get the chance to do."