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WHL Portland Winterhawks

WHL Alumni Spotlight: Winterhawks Alumni Jarvis Finding his Groove in Third Season with Canes

February 15, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


With over 100 graduates currently featured on NHL rosters, the Western Hockey League prides itself as one of the finest development leagues in the World.

By way of the WHL Alumni Spotlight, we aim to highlight notable achievements set by our alumni at the highest level of professional hockey on a week-to-week basis.

This is what our WHL Alumni were up to over the last week.

Jarvis sets career high in points during third season with Carolina

At the 2020 NHL Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes were well aware they had an excellent opportunity to nab high-calibre talent, Seth Jarvis, with their 13th-overall selection. Now, over three years later, Jarvis is continuing to prove that their first-round pick was worth every penny.

In his third season with the Hurricanes organization, Jarvis has already eclipsed his career-high in points - previously set at 40 (17 goals-23 assists) during his rookie season. With a primary assist against the Dallas Stars on February 13, the former Portland Winterhawks forward bested this prior record with his 41st point (16 goals-25 assists) of the season in just his 52nd game. Jarvis has also reached the 35-point plateau in every season to date and has collected 18 points (8 goals-10 assists) in 29 playoff appearances. On February 8, Jarvis also skated in his 200th career NHL game.

Taken 11th-overall by the Winterhawks during the 2017 WHL Prospects Draft, Jarvis spent parts of four seasons in the Rose City. In his 154 appearances in a Winterhawks uniform, the product Winnipeg, Man., recorded 73 goals, 93 assists and 166 points. In 2019-20, Jarvis finished second in WHL Regular Season points with 98 (42 goals-56 assists).

Giants' alumni Kane breaks Oilers hat-trick record

For years, the Edmonton Oilers record book has been littered with the same name, Wayne Gretzky. A surprise to none, the all-time great spent decades blitzing through his opponents all while staking his claim on club and league-wide records. But, as of February 9, 'The Great One' holds one less scoring accomplishment set with the Oilers. With his hat-trick performance against the Anaheim Ducks in early February, Giants alumni, WHL Champion, and Memorial Cup Champion Evander Kane became the fastest player to record five hat-tricks in franchise history. Skating in what was his 130th game with the Oilers, Kane was able to surpass Gretzky's previous record by a mere six games. His three-goal outing against the Ducks was his eighth hat-trick at the NHL level.

Since joining the Oilers midway through the 2021-22 season, the Vancouver, B.C. native has been scoring at a consistent clip. Alongside fellow WHL alumni, Leon Draisaitl (Kelowna Rockets / Prince Albert Raiders), Kane has recorded 100 points (57 goals-43 assists) in 132 games with the Oilers.

In his three seasons as a member of his hometown Vancouver Giants, Kane registered 138 points (73 goals-65 assists) in 134 games - including a 48-goal season during his 2008-09 campaign. Scoring hat-tricks was a common occurrence during his time with the Giants too. Kane recorded four hat-tricks while in Vancouver, including a four-goal, five-point outing against the Seattle Thunderbirds on December 10, 2008.

In June of 2009, the Atlanta Thrashers selected Kane with the fourth-overall pick at the NHL Draft.

WHL Champions Neighbours and Hofer assisting Blues with post-season push

With a record of 7-3-0 in their last ten outings and a slight grasp on one of two wild-card spots in the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues are hunting for a spot in the 2024 NHL Playoffs. And, with the help of recent WHL graduates, Jake Neighbours and Joel Hofer, they may just get there.

Neighbours, a former captain of the Edmonton Oil Kings, and Hofer, a netminder for the Swift Current Broncos and Portland Winterhawks, have aided the Blues' post-season push on two fronts.

For Neighbours, this season has seen the 21-year-old take a notable step in his offensive output. With four points (three goals-one assist) in his last three games, Neighbours has given the Blues an extra dose of scoring in their middle-six set of forwards. The product of Airdrie, Alta., also tripled his goal tally from the season prior and now sits tied for first in Blues scoring, with 18.

Neighbours also found a plethora of success in his five-season tenure with the Oil Kings. In his 171 appearances, the Oil Kings captain collected 176 points (60 goals-116 assists) before claiming the 2022 WHL Championship with Edmonton. In 2017, Neighbours was selected in the first round, 26th-overall by the St. Louis Blues at the NHL Draft.

On the other end of the ice, Joel Hofer has spent the season tending the crease as the Blues' backup goaltender. In his last three starts - including a 34-save victory over the Buffalo Sabres on February 10 - the Broncos and Winterhawks alumni has been a perfect 3-0-0. On the season, Hofer has stood tall with a record of 14-10-1 over 25 starts.

In a similar fashion to his teammate, Neighbours, Hofer was also crowned a WHL Champion - winning with the Swift Current Broncos in 2018 - and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Blues. At the end of the 2019-20 season, Hofer graduated from the WHL with an impressive record of 57-40-6-4 and a .910 save percentage.

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2024


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