Saturday, January 9, 2016

2016 NHL Draft Preview: Tyson Jost

I'm feeling a bit of a streak today, and will try to get another prospect report in...after all it is my break day for grad school applications.

Today we look at
:
Tyson Jost
Height: 6’0"
Weight: 194 lbs
Position: C/LW
Shoots: Left
Team (League): Penticton Vees (British Columbia Hockey League )
ISS rank: 9
CSS rank: A (no rankings released)
FC rank: 12
THN rank: NA
DTJ rank: 11

Current Statline for 2015-2016 Season:  30 GP, 24G 37A 61P 28PIM, +0 (BCHL doesn't seem to track +/-), 2.03 Points/Game

This draft class is seeing a very interesting differentiation in the "standard path" of development. The headliner of the draft class, Auston Matthews, is opting for a year in the Swiss National League. Two other players are taking an alternate path for development as well. Dante Fabbro and Tyson Jost and two young draft-eligible players who opted to stay another year instead of signing with the WHL teams that drafted them. They are both NCAA bound next season. (Jost - North Dakota & Fabbro - Boston U.)

Tyson Jost is a ferocious offensive talent capable of playing and performing at very high speed with good energy. He is a remarkable embodiment of the term "fast", in every sense. He's physically fast, and zips up and down the ice, but is also incredibly fast in thinking the game and executing plays. I think an understandable knock against him is the level of play in the league that he's in, in comparison to other top draft-eligible prospects is much weaker. I agree with this notion, but when playing among his peers in the World Junior A championship, a very respected and heavily scouted, Jost was Team Canada's best forward and the tournament leading scorer with 9 points (3G 6A) in 4 games. In fact, in each of the international events that Jost has represented Canada for, he's performed remarkably and has been one of Canada's best forwards. At the 2014 WJAC he was able to make a tremendous impact against older competition despite being only a 16 year-old. Point being, he has fantastic offensive instincts. A typical buzzsaw-type forward in terms of grit, energy, speed, and skill, Jost is going to be a top talent coming into the draft.

In his first full season of the BCHL, Jost had the highest PPG pace out of his entire team, scoring 45 points (23G 22A0 in 46 games. He plays a big role this year, and will play a massive role at the University of North Dakota next season. I believe he's going to make a strong impact at the NHL level because he has all the tools to be elite. He plays, in my opinion, a good blue collar game: hard-working and honest. He's excellent along the boards, winning most of his battles and positions himself well. He's also got a great, strong shot. He can lay out a good strong hit as well. Everything about Jost screams elite offensive threat, mainly based in his great hockey IQ and excellent speed.

Like many young forward prospects, Jost is still figuring out play in his own end, and he has been improving. Having to grow into hockey as a smaller player, he developed strong elements to his "small game" like stick lifts and other reads on the ice. While not huge in stature, he is very difficult to knock off of the puck. Additionally, Jost is wearing the "C" for Penticton this season, and performing admirably in doing so. He tries to lead by example, and I would definitely say he's doing so.

At the draft in June, I don't see Jost being taken past 16th overall. He's just too good. Future Considerations describes him as "agile and slippery", and I agree in that description. He's just at least half a step ahead of everybody else out there, and is able to make all sorts of plays because of it. Despite his ability to rush the net and score with his hard wrist-shot, I would still describe Jost as a play-making forward. Either way, he's got the makings of a top-6 forward. From a Devils perspective, I can absolutely see Jost making a significant impact within Hynes' system. He's a very dynamic player with elite puck handling skills. If the Devils do draft him, they will have to be patient, and give him as many years as he needs at University of North Dakota to develop. Also this wouldn't be the first time the Devils select a forward from the BCHL with a 1st round pick. Travis Zajac was selected 20th overall (1st round) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL. While there is a big difference in styles of play between the two players, it shows that talent comes through regardless of the league of play. 
I am very interested in following the rest of Jost's season in Penticton, and I hope he can become the top-tiered talent he has the potential to be. I hope you enjoyed my write-up of Tyson Jost! If you have any feedback, suggestions, or players you’d like to see my write about, please let me know!


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