Before climbing a mountain in 90-degree heat to conclude Avalanche development camp Saturday, the 24 young participants scrimmaged 3-on-3 and had a skills competition at Family Sports Center. There was no shortage of skill in both 30-minute sessions, and 2016 first-round draft pick Tyson Jost was among those who stood out.
Jost, 18, scored three times over a 10-minute stretch during the 3-on-3 session. He struck with a wrist shot from the left circle, on an empty net and in a shootout. Later during the skills competition, he scored on consecutive shootout attempts, both drawing applause from the modest crowd. Jost’s skating is perhaps average but his hands in front of the net appear elite.
“It’s been a great week and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot,” said Jost, the University of North Dakota-bound freshman whose next camp will be with the Canadian World Junior team. “You wanted to come here and learn a lot and see how you can become a pro as fast as you can. I think I learned a lot on that side of things.”
Forwards Julien Nantel and J.C. Beaudin, the two Avs draftees who were teammates with Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season, both shined during the final on-ice session of the camp, and 6-foot-6 forwards Gustav Olhaver and Ben Storm didn’t look out of place. Olhaver and Storm each scored or set up goals, including Storm’s behind the net feed to Shawn Ouellette-St. Amant, who was a undrafted camp invite.
Forward J.T. Compher, the former Michigan captain whose rights were acquired from Buffalo in the Ryan O’Reilly trade last summer, also looked good and scored goals in both sessions. And center Filip Karlsson and right wing Jackson Houck each scored 3-on-3 goals as camp invites.
The seven defensemen worked tirelessly all week with former Colorado blueliners Adam Foote and Brett Clark. The forwards and defensemen were split up for three days before Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I thought it was a good week. The on-ice, especially, working with Clarkie and Footer. We did a lot of D stuff, D-drills, situational stuff and working on small details. It was a great experience this week and I just tried to soak up as much as possible,” said University of Denver defenseman Will Butcher, a 2013 Avs draftee who will captain the Pioneers next season as a senior.
Defenseman Nicolas Meloche, who was selected by Colorado 40th overall in 2015, also attended the camp a year go.
“We saw the ice more and, for myself, working with Footer and Clarkie, I enjoyed it a lot. It was pretty nice,” Meloche said.
Meloche, who is also from the QMJHL, is among the many development camp players who also will attend the Avalanche’s rookie and training camps in September. College players like Jost, Storm (St. Cloud State) and Butcher cannot participate in September, per NCAA rules.
