Seth Jarvis’ breakout is real, and it’s spectacular

And here’s Jarvis relative to the rest of the NHL’s forwards so far this season, among the 375 who’d played at least 50 minutes at 5-on-5 through Sunday’s action:

So while Jarvis likely won’t maintain a 22.1 shooting percentage, he’s been as dominant an individual play driver as anyone in the NHL so far this season. That also follows up a sizzling second half last season in which he had 23 goals and 46 points over his final 45 games followed by six goals and 16 points in 15 playoff games. Add those numbers to his sensational start and Jarvis has 36 goals and 73 points in his past 67 games. He’s blossoming into a frontline NHL star before our eyes, and he’s doing so at just 23 years old.

How is it coming together for him? For one, he’s playing with the most confidence of his career, entrusted in so many situations by Brind’Amour. Jarvis’ ice time has increased every season and sits at a career-best 19:57 per game so far in 2025-26. He plays almost six combined minutes a night on the power play and penalty kill. He has become a major offensive weapon, but a defensive one, too; he bubbled up into the Selke Trophy discussion the past couple seasons, finishing eighth and 12^th in the vote, and the two-way play has become a source of pride in his game, the Selke something he’d relish if he ever won it.

“Yeah, that’d be super cool,” he told Daily Faceoff. “Any time you can be acknowledged for something like that, in the NHL, you’re doing something right. That’s definitely something that I keep in my mind, but it’s not something I’m going out there trying to do. I’m always trying to just improve my defensive game in general, and whether that comes with a Selke or not, that’s out of my hands. But just to be in those conversations is really cool.”

The other key to Jarvis’ ascension into stardom? Being himself and, more specifically, playing for a team that allows it. He’s widely acknowledged now as one of the funniest players in the NHL. Busting up a room is effortless for him most of the time – hence him volunteering to do pushups when asked about his injury rehab. But he’s not totally sure where his sense of humor originated given he wasn’t exactly raised in an environment that fostered a class-clown mentality.

“No, my parents were teachers, so if I acted up, I thought I was getting just murdered,” he told Daily Faceoff. “I think it’s something that I’ve definitely always had. And when you get to the NHL, you can be a little tentative. I was really lucky that my first couple of years I had a really good group of older guys that kind of let me be myself and let me get comfortable, and once I got comfortable, I started playing better. And so for me, when I’m having fun joking around, that’s when I play my best hockey. I think that’s what everyone in the organization started to realize a little bit, so they let me kind of go off and do my thing and have fun to a certain extent.”

So Jarvis has the pure offensive skill of a player selected 13th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has a center who fosters his scoring in Sebastian Aho. Jarvis has the two-way game and the swagger to be a leader. But can he elevate into the Brad Marchand tier and activate another tool, using humor to add master-grade trash talking to unleash on opponents during games?

“I want to, so badly. I have such an appreciation for guys like that, but I’m not quick enough,” Jarvis told Daily Faceoff. “When someone says something to me, I can’t just snap back. I need, like, four to five business days. It’s usually a little late, but it’s something, I don’t know how you work on it, but I’ve been trying to get a little more vocal on the ice, because that’s definitely an aspect of a game that is effective. To add that would be nice, but I’m not quick enough at that.”

Maybe not yet. But it’s easy to forget Jarvis is 23, still younger than 80.4 percent of the forwards who have skated in any NHL games this year. His timing around the net continues to get better – and maybe the wit will catch up, too. Whether it does or not: Jarvis is here to stay as a star and arguably the Canes’ best forward.