Colorado Avalanche: Evaluation and Areas of Improvement for Tyson Jost

Colorado Avalanche rookie forward Tyson Jost didn’t have as dominant a season as he might have wished for, but much of the improvement needs to come from the team.

Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost didn’t have the rookie season he should have. Unfortunately, an upper body injury derailed his preseason, followed by a bone bruise early in the regular season. Those two injuries definitely slowed his transition to the NHL down.

That said, Jost is still considered one of the foundational players for the youth movement moving forward. It looks like the Avalanche are going to give him every chance to succeed — as well they should.

His 12 goals and 22 points don’t look that impressive. However, only five of those points came in the first half of the season — as Jost got his NHL legs under him, he improved considerably. He still had games-long pointless lulls, but so did a lot of players who weren’t 19-year-old rookies.

Jost is just 20 years old now, and he has already demonstrated an ability to play in the NHL, just not as an impact player yet. Well, let’s look at his rookie season and some ways he can improve to become that impact player.

Evaluation of Tyson Jost’s 2017-18 Season

More from Mile High Sticking

Goals: 12
Assists: 10
Shots: 113
Shooting percentage: 10.6%
Faceoff percentage: 36.68%
Takeaway vs. giveaway ratio: 2:2
CF%: 46%
CF% Rel: -2

Boy do I like looking at the amount of shots Tyson Jost took as well as his 10.6 shooting percentage, But, boy, is that faceoff percentage rough. Once Matt Duchene was traded, that was an area of weakness team-wide. Primary center Nathan MacKinnon averaged only 41.9% with his wingers, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, out-performing him.

Back to Jost. Looking at his advanced stats, I find it interesting that his zone starts were basically dead even at 50.2% in the offensive zone and 49.8% in the defensive zone. To be honest, that seems like some pressure for a young player.

That takeaway-giveaway ratio, though. Tyson Jost is responsible with the puck. He averaged 14:28 in ice time, and in all that time managed only two giveaways while effecting two takeaways.

As BSN Avalanche points out, in the postseason, Jost wasn’t an impactful player. However, the Nashville Predators also got nothing accomplished against him. If his first step in his NHL career is neutralizing threats and playing smart hockey… well, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Areas of Improvement for Tyson Jost

Tyson Jost needs to work on his faceoffs, which all the Colorado Avalanche centers need to do. That said, I feel like Tyson Jost is already taking the necessary steps on his end to take his game to the next level.

For me, it’s more about the team developing Jost and growing his game in the right direction. Last season, it was unclear what Jost’s role would be. With so many rookies on the team last season — as many as five suiting up a game — I feel like Jost sometimes got lost in the shuffle.

Well, it shouldn’t be that way next season. It’s up to the Colorado Avalanche to properly develop their #10-overall from the 2016 NHL Draft. They need to find him the proper linemates and ensure he’s adjusting well the NHL game at every turn.

Because Tyson Jost is putting in his work. It’s only fair that the Avs keep up their end of the bargain.

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I have every confidence that, given proper development, Tyson Jost will become and impactful player for the Colorado Avalanche.

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