Avs training camp takeaways: Tyson Jost dominates

The second day of training camp is in the books for the Colorado Avalanche and it was a much higher intensity day that featured no conditioning but plenty of hitting. You’re not here to read any more fluff than is necessary so let’s get to the takeaways from day two!

Colorado’s Mutant

I’m going to assume the majority of you reading this have seen the first Captain America movie. As such, Tyson Jost reminds me of Steve Rogers in that last year was Rogers before he took the super serum and this year’s version of Jost is Rogers after being injected with the super serum. Rogers went on to annihilate Red Skull before taking an extended nap. There isn’t an obvious villain for Jost to take down but the rest of the Central Division should be put on notice because this kid looks ready to make serious noise.

His skating stride looks completely revamped. Heavy weight training combined with an early-season groin injury put Jost behind the curve last year and his goal of getting faster on his feet has most certainly been accomplished. He looks like a brand new player flying around the ice and creating havoc. His highlight of the day was juking Erik Johnson, faking to his forehand before pulling the puck between Johnson’s legs and curling around him and getting a shot on goal. It was the kind of moment that drew a visceral reaction from not only the crowd but Johnson himself, who gave Jost a friendly little slash after the play.

The Mutant’s Sidekick

Jost isn’t the only player out there looking like a new man. He’s the only one out there looking like a completely different man, but linemate Alexander Kerfoot looks refreshed and energized as well. Kerfoot has bulked up over the summer to better prepare his body for the beating it took last season as he fearlessly went into the dirty areas of the ice. That increased bulk hasn’t taken anything away from his speed or quickness as he looks great early on. He’s committed himself to adopting more of a shooter’s mindset and two days into camp we’re seeing him aggressively seeking his own shot. Obviously, those habits are much harder to break in actual games but it’s good to see Kerfoot giving it the old college try.

Trident of Terror

Colorado’s top line, which I’ve taken to calling the Trident of Terror, was out in full force yet again today. Nathan MacKinnon looks like he’s on a completely different planet from even the best of the Avalanche players. He’s incredible and is deserving of being the center of attention but both Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen made spectacular plays throughout their session to remind everyone this top line is no one-trick pony. These guys are completely locked in.

Barrie’s Back!

After missing yesterday with a minor lower-body injury, Tyson Barrie returned to the ice today and looked…exactly as you would expect. He was moving the puck around with great energy and looked great on his skates. He got physically beaten on defense on a couple of drills but he also held his own against MacKinnon on a couple of drills that had them matched up head-to-head. One sequence, in particular, was memorable when Barrie fell for a MacKinnon fake but recovered to swat the puck to the corner before MacKinnon could get a shot off. It won’t always be perfect with Barrie on defense but you always want to see him competing.

Blueline Surprises

Two guys we haven’t talked about much had strong showings today. Anton Lindholm and Ryan Graves each had solid days playing to their own strengths. Lindholm has always been physical despite being undersized and he continued that today with a couple of solid hits. Graves looks like he’s slimmed down quite a bit and his feet were really moving well today. He’s a big kid with an interesting set of skills so I’ll be curious to see how Graves pans out. He very nearly made the Rangers out of camp last year and I’m curious how hard he pushes for a spot this year. Both of those guys had strong days and with the injury issues already taking hold on the back end, both Lindholm and Graves could be called upon to eat up NHL minutes.

Injury Bug Already Doing Damage

The Avalanche were without defensemen Conor Timmins, Nicolas Meloche, Sergei Boikov, and David Warsofsky today. There hasn’t been any information given on what’s wrong or when they’ll return but four players at the same position missing time could be a recipe for a big problem if it’s an extended period of time they are out. Timmins was said to be “week-to-week” so there’s no expectation to see him anytime soon as he recovers from a concussion.

Impressive Young Guns

Several young guys are having strong camps early on but Ty Lewis, Josh Dickinson, and A.J. Greer have all stood out to me in different ways. Dickinson straight up played pest today and got under the skin of whatever line got matched up against him to the point where he had to be separated from a few different guys. Lewis just looks like he’s in incredible shape and is fitting in with Colorado’s desire to play fast and aggressive hockey. Greer has always been a great competitor but controlling his emotions has been something of a challenge. To my eye, he’s been really good so far and I’ve liked his aggression with the puck. He’s not wasting any opportunity to put his head down and drive right at a player.

Strugglebus Has Riders

While overall this has been an excellent training camp so far, there’s always going to be some guys who don’t look like they’re having the best of times. Martin Kaut looks more like he’s lacking in confidence than anything else. His work on the forecheck has been really good but anytime he’s gathered the puck, he has immediately struggled to do something productive with it. To me, that’s a confidence issue. He’s giving his opposition too much respect and isn’t totally convinced he can play the NHL level and speed the Avs are looking for right now. That will definitely come in time but for now, it’s clearly missing.

Ian Cole had a pretty glaring mishap with the puck today when he lazily threw a pass across the blue line that was intercepted. It would’ve gone for a breakaway in a real game situation but instead, the coach just blew the whistle and looked at Cole in utter confusion. Beyond that, I liked Cole’s day. He’s always making sure guys know he’s there, whether with an extra little slash or a tug on the jersey or a shove. He makes his presence known.

This isn’t a criticism of a single player but as the guys were working on faceoffs after the session officially ended, it was obvious there’s still an issue there. None of the NHL guys were consistently winning draws.