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Tyson Jost

Colorado Avalanche Make Four Transactions

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The Colorado Avalanche have made several transactions ahead of their Tuesday night game against the Dallas Stars. The team has placed Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher on injured reserve, while recalling A.J. Greer and Gabriel Bourque from the AHL.

Jost and Compher are out for at least a few weeks, putting a bad taste on what has been a fairly successful start to the season. They’ll turn to the 20-year old Greer, who made his NHL debut last season and Bourque who found himself playing the majority of games in the AHL last season for the first time in several years. The 27-year old Bourque was once a full-time player in the Nashville Predators’ lineup, but has just 28 NHL games over the past two seasons.

The Avalanche are 4-4 but were on the receiving end of a bad call by review officials on Thursday night, leading to a loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues. While the correct call wouldn’t have guaranteed them a victory, it certainly didn’t help when Mikko Rantanen’s tying goal was pulled off the board.

Colorado was expected to be one of the worst teams in the league again this year after a historically-bad season in 2016-17, but are riding some youth and a re-energized Matt Duchene to a respectable record. If Greer can find some of the jump that made him a coveted prospect in the 2015 draft—he was selected 39th overall—perhaps he can show he belongs to stay in the NHL long-term.

Injury Updates: Draisaitl, Martinez, Jost, Miller

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Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl will miss Saturday’s game against Ottawa and possibly longer with an eye injury and a potential concussion, head coach Todd McLellan told reporters, including Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski.  Draisaitl has missed the last three practices with his eye being swollen to the point where it was impairing his vision but McLellan suggested there could be more to the injury, noting that they are waiting to hear more about his condition and how it might affect his head.  Fresh off his eight-year, $68MM contract, the 21-year-old has played a big role once again early on for Edmonton with three points in as many games while averaging over 20 minutes a night of ice time.

More injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Kings defenseman Alec Martinez participated in a full practice with the team today and is expected to be activated off injured reserve in time for Saturday’s game against Buffalo, notes Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Martinez suffered a lower-body injury late in the final practice before the regular season got underway and will be a big addition to their back end after collecting 39 points while averaging nearly 22 minutes per game in 2016-17.
  • Avalanche center Tyson Jost will miss at least the next two games with a hyperextended left knee and a bone bruise sustained in a collision on Tuesday against Boston, reports BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater. The 19-year-old could be available to return as soon as next Tuesday, Dater adds.  Jost is off to a good start in his first full NHL season with a goal and an assist through four games.
  • Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller expects to be taken off IR in the near future, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. He has been dealing with a wrist issue that only allowed him to make one preseason appearance and none in the regular season.  Miller has now rejoined Anaheim for practices, splitting shots faced with current backup Reto Berra but there is still no firm timetable for his return to the lineup.

2017-18 Primer: Colorado Avalanche

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With the NHL season just underway, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come.  Today, we focus on the Colorado Avalanche.

Last Season: 22-56-4 record (48 points), seventh in Central Division (missed playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $5.8MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: F Colin Wilson (trade, Nashville), F Alex Kerfoot (free agency, New Jersey), F Nail Yakupov (free agency, St. Louis), D Patrik Nemeth (waivers, Dallas), G Jonathan Bernier (free agency, Anaheim)

Key Departures: D Francois Beauchemin (buyout), F Mikhail Grigorenko (free agency, KHL), D Fedor Tyutin (free agency, unsigned), G Calvin Pickard (expansion, Vegas)

[Related: Avalanche Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Mikko RantanenPlayers To Watch: F Mikko Rantanen & F Tyson Jost – Though everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong in Colorado last year, there is still reason for optimism in the mountains. That optimism starts with the intriguing young core the team will ice at forward this year, including Rantanen and Jost. Both 10th-overall picks, Rantanen established himself as a full-time NHL player last year, recording 20 goals and 38 points in 75 games. While that seems underwhelming for a player many expect to be a top-line winger for years to come, it’s important to note that it ranked third on the team only behind established stars Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene.

Solidly built and armed with an incredibly accurate snapshot, Rantanen will score plenty of goals in this league. His ability to drift away from traffic and find a spot to unleash on net is uncanny, and will only develop with time and more successful linemates. At just 20, he’s only starting to fill out a 6’4″ frame that could carry around 220-lbs when it’s all said and done. That size, when added to his smooth skating and solid edgework shows a player who can contribute in several different elements of the game. While he struggled at times last year with consistency like many of the other Colorado Avalanche, a new season should bring better results.

Jost on the other hand jumped right from the NCAA tournament to the NHL last season, suiting up for just six games at the end of the year. Though he register his first NHL goal, it was the only point he put up through his short tenure. Still, Jost profiles as a prototypical two-way center that can score in bunches. He dominated his final season in the BCHL before heading to North Dakota where he continued to show why the Avalanche valued him so highly in the 2016 draft.

Not as big as some of the other number-1 centers in the league, Jost will likely settle into a second-line role with the Avalanche in the coming years. For now he’s been practicing with the fourth line, but there is clearly talent beyond that spot in the lineup. His development will be key to the success of the franchise, especially if they end up trading away some of their depth down the middle.

Key Storyline: That brings us to Duchene, who has been one of the biggest stories in the league for months now. While it now looks like he’ll begin the season with Colorado, there remains much speculation that a trade will eventually happen. Teams like Columbus, Carolina, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Nashville and New York have all been linked to Duchene at one point or another, though it’s unclear who would be willing to step up and pay the steep price GM Joe Sakic is still after.

The Avalanche are probably doing the right thing by waiting for their price to be met, but it must feel like torture to Duchene and agent JP Barry. The latter has been clear about his client’s desire for a fresh start, and Duchene has been hounded by questions and speculation since well before last year’s trade deadline. Perhaps showing that he can bounce back from last year’s disappointing 41-point season will catch the eye of a new team.

Unfortunately, Duchene will have a lot of responsibility heaped onto him to start the year. He’s been practicing between Nail Yakupov and Alex Kerfoot, who don’t inspire much confidence as they look to respectively rebuild and start their NHL careers. While both have high-end skill, Duchene will be required to drive play for the most part and play responsibly in his own end. While the speedster can do both of these things reasonably well, it’s not exactly his prime skill set.

The Avalanche are rebuilding, that much is clear. But this season is about more than just collecting assets and stockpiling draft picks. The team, coach and GM all need to prove that last year is behind them and that they’re no longer the laughing stock of the league. They’re just four years removed from an 112 point season with many of the same faces driving the team—that year Duchene had 70 points, while captain Gabriel Landeskog had 65. The playoffs are a long shot, but improvement is necessary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Avalanche Notes: Yakupov, Jost, Greer

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If there was a place that Nail Yakupov might be able to turn his NHL career around, the 23-year-old wing may have found the right place in Colorado. The 2012 former first-overall pick has struggled to establish himself the player that everyone thought he would be. Now, five seasons into his career, Yakupov may be nearing his last chance to revive his career.

After a solid rookie year in which he scored 17 goals in 48 games back in the 2012-13 season, Yakupov never was able to improve on that and eventually, his numbers began to decline. He was then traded last October to the St. Louis Blues. Some thought that when Edmonton traded him to the Blues, he could revive his career with the change of scenery. However, Yakupov managed just three goals in 40 games and wasn’t offered a qualifying offer. Finally, as a free agent, he signed a one-year, $875,000 deal for the opportunity to play.

NBC Sports Adam Gretz writes that he will get a legitimate opportunity in Colorado as the team views him as a top-6 wing for them. He adds that its a gamble worth taking when you are last in the league in goals scored (2.01). He cites that agent Igor Larianov believes Yakupov’s lack of success is from his lack of confidence from his Edmonton days and was never given a real opportunity in St. Louis.

  • In a separate piece, Gretz also writes that while the team did little to improve the team this offseason, the team must hinge their hopes on their youth. The team already got good returns from 2015 first-rounder Mikko Rantanen, who put up a 20-goal season in his first full year. Gretz adds that this could also be the season that they see 2016 first-rounder Tyson Jost have a big season. The 10th overall pick in last year’s draft played one year at the University of North Dakota before signing after the season with the Avalanche. Jost, played in six games, scoring one goal for Colorado.
  • SB Nation’s Mile High Hockey also cites 20-year-old forward A.J. Greer as a potential breakout player this coming year. The 6-foot-3 forward, a second-round pick in 2015, had 15 goals for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage and got into five games for the Avalanche, picking up one point.

Avalanche Sign Tyson Jost To Entry-Level Contract

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The Avalanche have signed 2016 first-round pick Tyson Jost to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced this evening. Terry Frei of the Denver Post tweets that the 10th-overall pick could play with the squad as soon as Friday.

Reports from yesterday were a bit pessimistic that a deal would get done this season. Jost and his North Dakota teammates were knocked out of the NCAA playoffs, so it’d be natural for the talented prospect to go professional. However, considering his age, there were some whispers that the forward may return to college for a second season. The 19-year-old had a fantastic season with the Fighting Hawks, collecting 38 points in 35 games. Jost also had a standout performance playing for Team Canada at the World Juniors, tallying four points in seven games.

“We are excited to announce that Tyson has signed his entry-level contract and will be joining us for the rest of this season,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President/general manager Joe Sakic. “Tyson is an all-around player. He competes, plays the game hard and is reliable at both ends of the ice. He just finished a strong year at North Dakota and we’re looking forward to seeing him in an Avalanche sweater.”

Prior to his collegiate career, Jost was the 2015-16 MVP of the British Columbia Hockey League, compiling 42 goals and 62 assists. He also competed at the 2016 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, leading the tournament in points with six goals and nine assists.

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