Colorado Avalanche: Tyson Jost is not the Team Savior

Colorado Avalanche fans shouldn’t hang their hat on Tyson Jost saving the team. He’ll be just a good augment to the current crop of talent.

Recently Colorado Avalanche beat writer Mike Chambers wrote an article about Tyson Jost. Chambers posed an interesting proposition — Colorado’s 10th-overall pick from last summer is likely to sign a professional contract with Colorado this spring.

Currently Jost is playing college hockey for the University of North Dakota, a high-level NCAA team. He also just tore it up for Team Canada in the World Juniors. Playing for UND is a dream for Jost because it’s the route his idol, Jonathan Toews, took.

Chambers’ rationale for saying Jost will sign this spring with the Avalanche is that Colorado is in desperate need of help. You have to admit that the conversation between Jost and GM Joe Sakic would be ridiculous if it went like this:

“Tyson, we’re offering you an entry-level contract. That means you could be in an NHL uniform as early as April of this year.”

“Aw, I don’t know, Mr. Sakic. I really had my heart set on following in Tazer’s footsteps and completing two full years at UND. Plus I’d be halfway to completing my college education.”

Ok, it’s true that some players have turned down the NHL team that drafted them — even besides the infamous Eric Lindros, Mike Reilly eschewed the Columbus Blue Jackets in favor of playing college hockey and eventually signing with the Minnesota Wild.

You don’t imagine Tyson Jost as that kind of player, though. If Sakic come’s a-calling, he’s likely to do what the Avs GM wants and sign a professional contract.

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However, there’s no reason to think that’s all the Colorado Avalanche needs. Jost was a great player at BCHL, and he’s had more than a point a game with UND. However, that won’t necessarily translate into the NHL.

Because the cold hard reality is this: If a first-overall draft pick like Nathan MacKinnon, who dominated in major juniors, couldn’t completely turn the team around, how is Tyson Jost going to?

This isn’t a knock on Jost. Quite the opposite — it’s a plea to not put too much pressure on the kid. I’m not sure he’s even as fit as Mikko Rantanen to help the Colorado Avalanche just yet — Rantanen at least had a couple years of professional hockey under his belt in Finland before the Avs signed him. And even he had to spend a year with the AHL San Antonio Rampage.

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Forward Tyson Jost is eventually going to be a very good player for the Colorado Avalanche. If he signs a professional contract this spring or even this summer, more’s the better. While it’s true some players had great success going the college route before the NHL, playing pro is more rigorous, if only for the schedule alone.

Just don’t put the weight of the Colorado Avalanche on Jost’s shoulders. He’ll either play a full year in the AHL or bounce between the Avalanche and Rampage next year. Colorado’s future isn’t largely dependent on Tyson Jost.

Here’s Tyson Jost being filthy at World Juniors:

By Nadia Archuleta for Mile High Sticking