Tyson Jost, 19, made his NHL debut after signing an entry-level contract Wednesday. He just completed his freshman season at the University of North Dakota and jumped right into the NHL -- and representing the Colorado Avalanche in a shootout in front of a home crowd.
He missed his chance, but the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues on goals from Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene.
Jost, Colorado's first-round pick (10th overall) in the 2016 draft, had 16 goals and 19 assists in 33 games for the Fighting Hawks but is the second player in the program's history to turn pro after one year. He jumped over the boards for his first shift 2:08 into the game with his mother and grandfather watching from the stands.
"Amazing, a dream come true. I know it's a cliche, but it really was," he said. "It's something I'm going to remember for a long, long time. Having my family come down and being in the crowd is pretty special."
Jost nearly had his first goal early in the third period. Allen got a glove on his shot from the left circle, and the puck just missed going inside the far post. Allen again got him in the shootout.
"I wanted to put him in a situation," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of using Jost in the shootout. "I know our fans wanted to see it, we wanted to see it. That's one of the things we can do because of where we're at in the standings."
