Some Colorado Avalanche fans think center Tyson Jost should be sent to the AHL for development.
The Colorado Avalanche are struggling. They’re not exactly in a death spiral, but they just went 1-4-0 on their recent homestand. That record, according to Nathan MacKinnon, means they “shit the bed.” (It’s been edited out of the interview here, but it played live last night.)
No one is going to blame the struggles on the team’s youngest rookie, Tyson Jost. However, the young forward also hasn’t had the season that we’ve all been expecting from him. He’s played 10 games and recorded a goal and an assist.
Jost has been hampered by injury for much of this year. He missed a whole month of hockey because of a lower body injury. He then did a stint in San Antonio for reconditioning.
Tyson Jost played six games for the Colorado Avalanche at the end of last season. His only point was his first NHL goal. However, he looked so much more poised on the ice. Indeed, I’ve dubbed him a bulldog on the forecheck because of his play last season.
I can’t say if Jost is still a bulldog on the forecheck because I barely notice he’s out there. He disappears for large parts of the game. At least he’s not making egregious errors like fellow rookie Alexander Kerfoot (two games in a row one of his turnovers has resulted in an opponent goal). However, he’s not having an impact either.
He’s certainly trying. Jost was in the roster for four out of the five home games. He recorded five shots on goal. None were overly dangerous, though. He also hasn’t recorded a point.
After each of the home losses (Jost also played in the overtime win game against the Winnipeg Jets), Avalanche fans started clamoring that Jost should be sent back to the AHL. I posed the question specifically, and got three responses in the affirmative:
They should send him to the ahl for the rest of the season he's not ready
— Peter(sxymtlhd) (@Petexxmetal) December 6, 2017
100%. He needs major seasoning in the AHL.
— FRIGGLE DEE (@DestraDura) December 6, 2017
They should've kept him down there til the WJs, given him a few weeks more after the tournament in the AHL then look to bring him back
— And Clements (@andclements) December 6, 2017
I also received an interesting proposition for Jost:
In fact, a lot of Avalanche fans want to see Tyson Jost participate in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, which takes place between December 26 to January 5. In fact, Mile High Hockey wrote a whole article about why the Avs should lend Jost to Team Canada.
I’m not adverse to that idea. At the time of writing, Jost hadn’t been added to Team Canada’s preliminary roster. That’s not to say they wouldn’t make an exception if the Avs made him available.
In any case, I’d prefer Jost head off to World Juniors than to the AHL (even though he could do both). Besides the injury issue, Jost’s development has been hampered by not having a stable role on the team. He’s played with fellow rookies Alexander Kerfoot and J.T. Compher, Nail Yakupov, grinders Matthew Nieto and Blake Comeau, Carl Soderberg, Gabriel Landeskog…
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How is a 19-year-old rookie supposed to adjust? I don’t think we’re seeing a problem in Jost’s skill set not being NHL ready yet. I think we’re seeing a kid who doesn’t have a proper foundation to play in the NHL.
Case in point, the habit in previous years was for teen players to live with an established family man. At the age of 19, Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon were living with Adam Foote, Darcy Tucker, and Max Talbot respectively.
Jost is living with fellow rookies J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot (as well as Chris Bigras, when he’s not in the AHL himself). While it’s true both young men are older than Jost, they’re in no way seasoned in the NHL or even life itself.
I think Tyson Jost needs an NHL mentor. I’d love to see Nail Yakupov step into that role. Not only is he an established family man, but he knows the hardships of being a teenager (on a bad team, no less) in the NHL.
What’s more, Jost needs an established line, or at least one player he consistently plays with. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have each other, as do Blake Comeau and Carl Soderberg.
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I don’t think it serves any purpose sending Tyson Jost to the San Antonio Rampage. Rather, he needs what any kid needs — stability. And it’s up to the Colorado Avalanche to provide that for their young rookie.