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Colorado Avalanche: Tyson Jost was So Serious at the NHL Combine

By Nadia Archuleta

VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 30: Tyson Jost
VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 30: Tyson Jost /
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Colorado Avalanche center Tyson Jost is known for being an affable kid. Turns out he displayed a different aspect of his personality at the NHL Combine.

Colorado Avalanche fans have gotten to love center Tyson Jost. He’s just genuinely a likable guy.

When you think of Jost, though, you think of the kid with the irrepressible smile. Indeed, he’s known for always smiling and laughing:

I mean, he’s a goofy kid — how can you help but not love him?

When the Colorado Avalanche picked Tyson Jost with their 10th-overall pick in 2016, I was annoyed. I was so sure they were picking Logan Brown, and that’s the player I wanted. (It should be pretty clear by now I’ve done a complete 180 on Jost.)

Later, once Jost had joined the Avalanche at the end of the dreadful 2016-17 season, I started doing some more research on the the new Av. During his draft day, it was remarked:

"“There was no player who interviewed better at the NHL Combine. One general manager said ‘That’s the best kid I have ever seen in an interview in 10 years of doing it’.”"

By then, we had seen some of Tyson’s interviews. He wasn’t as comfortable in his new role as in the tweet above, but I figured this gregarious, charismatic kid had just turned on the charm with the teams.

While researching the Scouting Combine this year, I came across the video below, and I saw a whole new insight into Tyson Jost. He is so serious and sober in the video below:

No, really, from the very beginning he seems to be an intense young man. Intense! Prior to watching this video, I would have never used that word to describe Tyson.

Concerning his own personal description, when asked how he describes himself to teams during the interview process he says the following:

"“I think just driven. That’s one thing that really comes out about the person I am. I’m a very driven individual.”"

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Naturally, every player who makes it to the NHL has to be driven. We all know the hours of practice every day, the early morning ice times, the competitiveness to reach that next level and the next and the next as a player. Every NHLer is driven.

It was just interesting to hear Jost describe that quality as so central to his character.

He gives us a little more hint later on about his motivator and his model, his mother. Laura Jost was a single mother raising Tyson and his sister, though she had the help of her parents. But Jost has spoken a lot about all the sacrifices she made when he was growing up.

"“My mom is a huge part of [turning me into a leader]. She’s a special lady…If I had to thank one person, I think it would be her. She gave me a lot of qualities that I see myself in her, and I think she’s a pretty special lady, and I love talking about her just because of all the hard work and sacrifice she’s given my sister and I. So, hopefully one day I can repay her. And it will be pretty special when I have her in the stands for the draft."

Obviously, when you’ve got so much riding on your success, you’re going to be driven. And by the way, he was correct about how special it was to have his mother — and Grandpa Jost — in the stands for the Draft:

The hug heard round the world.

Side note: Tyson Jost elaborates a lot. I’m willing to bet the fact that he didn’t just give canned responses impressed teams.

More to the point, that sober delivery and self-stated drive is clearly what impressed so many teams. And then the Avs ended up with this instead:

I jest. Not only does Tyson Jost only laugh and joke when it’s appropriate, but that kind of jocular personality is glue in locker room chemistry.

Naturally, a large part of that serious delivery at the NHL Combine was nervousness. Indeed, already by draft day we were seeing Jost begin to relax:

He’s still a lot more serious than we’ve come to expect, but at least we’re seeing that trademark smile.

After a season of college hockey, Jost joined the Colorado Avalanche for the last six games of the 2016-17 season. After his first practice with the team, he spoke to the media:

We see that he’s even more relaxed and comfortable. That was his first step to becoming an integral part of this team.

One of the great pleasures with current media — including social media — is we get to watch these boys become men. We get to watch as they attend the NHL Combine as prospects, get drafted, and go through some development. We see them sign their NHL contracts and continue their development, including when they make the NHL team.

We get to watch as these boys become men.

In case you’re wondering, (and didn’t follow along during my Farewell to Dutchy), that’s why I can’t let go of Matt Duchene. Even his asking for a trade and leaving my favorite team — that’s just one more step in the arc of manhood that started with the boyhood exuberance of getting drafted by his favorite team.

MORE ABOUT TYSON JOST:

Josty is the new Dutchy for me. Just in the two years since I was so annoyed that GM Joe Sakic said “Tyson Jost” instead of “Logan Brown,” I’ve seen this kid take strides.

He’s not there yet, to manhood. But he’s getting closer:

Driven, intense and serious. Along with exuberant, charming and goofy. It all started with that sober Combine interview — I’m excited to see where this storyline goes for Colorado Avalanche center Tyson Jost.

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