Tyson Jost Scouting Report: 2016 NHL Draft #9

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Drafted by the Everett Silvertips in the WHL, Tyson Jost spurned the team to play for the Penticton Vees in the BCHL in order to maintain his college eligibility and will head to North Dakota next season. After helping Pentincton to the 2014-15 BCHL title, Jost was the BCHL MVP this season with 42 goals and 104 points in just 48 games. He’s also had plenty of international experience playing for Team Canada. He was at last year’s U17 World Hockey Challenge on Team Canada White. This season, Jost won a gold medal with Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament, and was a gold medal winner and tournament MVP at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge with Canada West. He will represent Canada at the IIHF Under 18 World Championships this spring. While there are some concerns surrounding the fact that Jost has mostly played less than ideal competition in the BCHL, his performance at the Under-18 could go a long way to dispel those concerns. Being on the same team as other highly rated prospects like Michael McLeod, and going head to head with Clayton Keller could give many a better appreciation of exactly where Jost sits amongst other centres in this draft class.

Edit: Jost was spectacular at the Under 18 tournament. His 15 points in 7 games led the tournament in scoring. It also broke the record held by Connor McDavid (McDavid was 16 at the time) for most points ever by a Canadian in the tournament. Including the WJAC and Ivan Hlinka it was the third straight tournament that Jost has performed against elite international competition. After seeing this performance we have re-adjusted our draft rankings and moved Jost to a top 10 pick. He has alleviated the concerns that come with playing BCHL competition, by proving he can succeed against other elite players in his age group.

Tyson Jost Scouting Report: 2016 NHL Draft #9

Centre — Shoots Left
Born Mar 17 1998 — Kelowna, BC
Height 6’00” — Weight 195 lbs [183 cm/88 kg]

Tyson Jost has great hands, and the ability to stickhandle in a phone booth. Jost is an excellent playmaker. He protects the puck extremely well, and has the ability to extend plays, and allow a teammate to get open. Once that happens he has the ability to feather a pass through a small opening, putting it tape-to-tape to create a scoring chance. Jost can also be a a goal scorer. He also has a very quick release on his shot, which helps him to fool goalies. He could stand to add more power to his wrist shot though, and this may come with increased muscle. He is also willing to go to the net, where he can use his excellent hand-eye co-ordination to tip in pucks, or pounce on rebounds. Jost battles hard in front of the net and in the corners. This is another area where more muscle would help though, in order to be ready to play that game at higher levels. Jost also has very good hockey sense, and seems to almost always make the smart play with the puck.

Tyson Jost is an excellent skater. He is shifty with good acceleration, agility and edgework. Jost has the ability to full defenders with his ability to quickly change directions as wells his ability to change speeds. Jost has very good top end speed, and when he does get past a defender he can drive to the front of the net. His balance is decent, but this is another area that would improve with added core body strength.

Jost shows commitment to back check, and provides good back pressure when defending against the rush. He reads the play well, and has good positioning which allows Jost to create turnovers, which he quickly transitions into offense. He supports his defence with a willingness to get involved physically in the corners or in front of the net.

Tyson Jost is likely at least a year, and possibly two away from the NHL. He is headed the NCAA route which will give him plenty of time to work on bulking up and getting ready for the rigours of the NHL. He is a high-end talent though, with the potential to become a top line player in the NHL, though it might be more likely that he settles in as a high end second liner. Jost’s style compares well with a player like Patrice Bergeron, though this is a stylistic comparison only and not one based on talent.

Below is a compilation of Tyson Jost highlights available on youtube.