Jost was recalled from the Eagles on Monday afternoon, and he will take the center spot on a line with J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot for tonight's game at Pepsi Center.
The three Avs players have skated together on a combo at different times throughout the season, and they all live with one another away from the rink. In fact, Jost and Compher were playing video games with each other at the time of the call-up.
"I guess there is a little bit of a connection there with us being roommates and whatnot," Jost said of the line. "We're excited. It's going to be a big task for us, we're playing a good team in Toronto. We're excited to be back together."
Compher said Jost is at his best when he's skating and has possession of the puck. That is the type of play that helped him record 35 points (16 goals and 19 assists) in 33 games as a freshman at the University of North Dakota in 2016-17 and 104 points (42 goals, 62 assists) while playing Junior A hockey in Penticton the season before.
The Avalanche drafted Jost at No. 10 overall the summer before his campaign at UND.
"I think he was drafted where he was for a reason, he's got that offensive skill," Compher said of his roommate-turned-linemate. "When he's moving his feet and hanging onto pucks and making plays, he's at his best."
Head coach Jared Bednar is looking for exactly that from Jost in his most recent NHL stint after the 20-year-old displayed some strong play with the Eagles.
Jost spent three-plus weeks in Loveland and recorded four goals and five points in eight AHL games.
"He's been producing because he's getting the puck touches, and he's being strong on the puck and doing all the right things away from the puck," Bednar said. "Here, I thought he lost a bit of that, lost a bit of his skating.
"We moved him to center down with the Eagles, and that position forces you to play goal line to goal line. He did a nice job of it, so we're going to bring him back here and try him at center and see if that continues to help drive him and move his legs."
Jost's last game with the Avalanche was on Jan. 16 at the Ottawa Senators, but he played only 8:27 in the contest. The natural center was skating mostly fourth line minutes during the Avs' five-game road trip at the time, and the club was looking to jumpstart his game with some reps at the American League level.
With the Eagles, Jost was playing a top-six role and getting significant time on the power play.
It's expected that he'll do the same with the Avalanche as the team battles for a spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
"I got to play a lot of minutes, and I got to touch the puck a lot," Jost said of his time in the AHL. "I just kind of got my confidence back… I thought it was a good experience for me. Just play hockey again and get my confidence back. I was happy with it, but at the end of the day this is where I want to be, I want to be in the NHL. I want to be with the Avs, and I want to make a difference here and I'm excited to be back."
