‘You’re cheering for your best friend’: Winnipeggers travel to see Seth Jarvis chase Olympic hockey gold By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 1:30 PM CST Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

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This article was published 16/02/2026 (249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MILAN — Six best buddies. A hockey road trip of a lifetime. And a front-row seat to watch one of their own live out a dream that once belonged to all of them.

These Winnipeg boys have come a long way — figuratively and literally — from the days of epic mini-sticks battles in childhood basements.

Now, the stage is the biggest in sport: an Olympic hockey rink in Milan, where Seth Jarvis is chasing gold and Lucas Humble, Lucas Fry, Sloan Tremblay, Bryan Hanna, Matt McLeod and Noah Wagner have travelled more than 7,000 kilometres to cheer him on.

“It’s hard not to get emotional about,” Hanna said on Monday as the group, including Jarvis, met with the Free Press outside the stunning Duomo di Milano.

“You’re cheering for your best friend, the team, and supporting the country. It’s just super cool.”

“Being able to watch one of your best friends, living a bit vicariously through him, and then the pride and camaraderie you feel in the stands. You’re cheering for your best friend, the team, and supporting the country. It’s just super cool for all of us involved. Just unbelievable.”

The cavalry arrived in Italy early Sunday morning and raced straight to the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, arriving just in time to watch Jarvis and arguably the most star-studded roster in Canadian hockey history dismantle France 10-2 to close out group play.

“It was like being a kid in a candy shop,” said Humble. “When Seth is out there, we’re cheering our loudest, but even when he’s not it’s like ‘Holy smokes, this is eye-opening just to watch.’”

All six are university students or recent graduates who already had time off scheduled because of the NHL break. The original plan was a far simpler one: head to Raleigh while Jarvis — a member of the Carolina Hurricanes who was initially left off the Olympic roster — enjoyed some downtime.

That plan evaporated two weeks ago.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point was injured and had to be replaced at the last minute. Jarvis got the call. His friends immediately began scheming.

Following Jarvis to international events isn’t new. The group became reluctant celebrities a year ago when they travelled to Boston to watch him help Canada beat the United States in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off. What made that trip legendary was the journey itself: they piled into a Nissan Murano and drove 30 straight hours after their flights were cancelled.

There’s no highway connecting Manitoba to Milan, so this time they took a more conventional route. Air Canada stepped in at the last minute to arrange flights — no doubt spotting a marketing opportunity.

“Just awesome. I can’t even put into words. We’ve never been to Italy before. Obviously never been to an Olympics. It’s been very surreal,” said Tremblay. “These random kids just popping off like this is pretty surreal. We’re just going to soak it all in, get to experience it with him, and make the most of it.”

Added McLeod, an aspiring lawyer: “I think just shock. Obviously, it’s the Olympics, there’s nothing that compares to this. You look outside and see the architecture, it’s so different from North America. It’s really refreshing to take in everything in and try to live in the moment.”

“He had that killer instinct to be the best.”

The group’s bond goes back more than 15 years, to when they first laced up skates together around age eight.

“It was supposed to be me, I think,” Humble joked about being where Jarvis now is. “Eight years old, I was pretty good, not to pump my tires. But then nine hit and I kind of went off the rails.”

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize Jarvis was the budding young hockey star as they moved up to AA with the Assiniboine Park Rangers.

“He had that drive, to be better than everyone else when he was on the ice,” said Wagner. “And not in a cocky way. He was just like, ‘Hey, I’m going to the best guy on the ice at all times.’ And he had that drive to get to the next level. It took him to where he is now. He had that killer instinct to be the best.”

Added Humble: “For all of us, that was the dream. He was just always miles ahead of other people. There’s a highlight video we go back to and watch and every now and again, he’s just dancing through all these kids.”

Jarvis went on to sharpen his skills at the Rink Academy, then tore up the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks before being selected 13th overall in the 2020 NHL draft by Carolina. He’s now on pace for a career year, with 43 points (25 goals, 18 assists) in 49 games.

“Everybody remembers playing mini-sticks in the basement and pretending to score the Golden Goal. That’s what we did. And now, we get to be here watching that guy we played mini-sticks with,” said Humble.

“I think that’s what has hit home for a lot of people. We’re really just happy to be here, and there’s not really much else behind it other than we want to support our best buddy.”

Their fandom is growing. They’ve been recognized around Milan — mostly by Canadians — and have launched an Instagram account, goodolcanadianboys, to document the week.

“It’s funny. We’re just six ordinary guys from Winnipeg, just kind of hanging out since we’re younger,” said Hanna.

Humble and Fry, who are both studying biology at the U of M, had an exam to write last Friday before they took flight.

“There was a long answer question and I just wrote ‘I love the Olympics and I love Canada,’” Fry joked.

Following Sunday’s game, the group attended Canada House for athletes and their families, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in sport.

“The atmosphere and the energy there was just awesome,” said Fry. “It’s a place where everybody loves their nation and wants to represent what we’re here for. It was cool to see other sports. Also funny at the same time, people coming up to us and recognizing us when we’re just a bunch of goofy guys.”

Jarvis isn’t just a terrific hockey player. He’s a big personality in a sport too often filled with robotic, cliche-spewing players. And that has made him a true fan favourite wherever he goes. Not that you have to tell his buddies any of this.

“It’s his ability to relate to everyone off the ice and just be himself in front of the cameras,” said Tremblay, who is currently studying kinesiology. “What we see behind the cameras is what you see in front of the cameras. It’s kind of relatable, especially to other young kids. He’s a good person to gravitate towards.”

Wagner, who works as a plumber and is also attending firefighting school, hopes the group can bring some of their 4 Nations good luck here to Italy.

“We’re two-for-two in games we’ve watched,” he said. “We’re hoping to go five-for-five.”

Canada has advanced to the quarterfinals Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday’s qualifying game between Czechia and Denmark, which features former Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers. The semifinals are Friday, followed by the bronze-medal game Saturday and the gold-medal game Sunday as Milano Cortina 2026 reaches its conclusion.

“We all got our lucky loonies, too,” said Wagner. “We all brought a loonie and they’ll be in our pockets. We’ve got six loonies with us so we’re ready to go.”

“Memories we’ll hold forever.”

Hanna, who graduated from actuarial math at the U of M and will soon start working full-time at Canada Life, said this adventure is already a success regardless of how it ends on the ice.

“Obviously you’d love to come out of it with a gold medal, but at the same time, it’s just the whole experience,” he said.

Jarvis got choked up as he told the Free Press what it means to have his loyal Winnipeg crew along for the ride.

“Everything,” he said. “Travelling across the world isn’t easy, especially on short notice. For them to be here, for them to get to watch me, it’s incredible. I know it’s memories we’ll hold forever. I’m just super grateful I have such great friends.”

www.winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre