not a good sign for jost getting beat out by nieto.

No real shockers here. Id like to see Jost given a shot (which im sure he will be given throughout camp) but its understandable that he could be the 13th forward just because of how deep this teams forwards are. You could make the argument that Jost > Nieto but I guess they may want to go with the guy more proven on the PK

its day 1 of camp theres tons of time for Jost to make an impresssion. Nieto's PK ability probably gives him the leg up for now though

being healthy and already trading for Namestnikov, it really makes it a battle bw Nieto and Jost.
Realistically someone is going to be banged out of camp, and if its not Jost, he will be the one that slides into that spot.

I wouldn't be overly shocked to see Namestnikov as the odd man out. He put up points in his few games, but that is inflated due to a really high shooting percentage and him playing with top six guys.

It's him, Nieto, or Jost for sure though. Wouldn't be surprised if the lineup wasn't 100% consistent from game to game either.

There is no way name is the odd guy out. They have been after him for a few seasons now and plays up and down the top 9 and can PK, he’s a big body and without Wilson they have few options for that who can crash the net and clean up the trash.

That's how I would have lined it up, jost is the 13th guy until he can beat someone out of a job.. 4th lines pretty set, those guys where awesome all year

I guarantee they will mix it up through out especially the 2nd and 3rd lines. I still think you’ll see Namestikov get a shot on the top line allowing Mikko to drop to the 2nd because he had good chemistry w/MacK and Landy before the break.

His playoff performance in the past has been not so great. He won't be gifted a spot.

My guess is Nieto sits the first game or two. If either Jost or Namestnikov struggle, he'll replace them. If Namestnikov doesn't look great though, I don't think Bednar will hesitate to go with Jost and Nieto over him.

No surprise.

Some interesting battles especially on Defense to make the playoff roster.... 3 cuts needed.

I think Timmins is going to win out for the 7th spot. Barbs will be next in line.

Avs dont trade for someone just to sit them when they could be tryign to re-sign him. Just think hes pretty safe unless hes a dumpster fire.
We saw Avs play Brassard in the playoffs last year and he didnt deserve to be a regular in the line up.

Just think he would have to really tank for him to be benched

Healthy line up avs who PK are Calvert, Compher, Namestnikov, Bellemare, Donskoi, and you had Nuke and Jost doing some PK too.
HIs PK ability alone wont keep him in the lineup when there are so many options. Its not like he was heads and tails better PKer over a lot of them.

Like you said, Bednar is comfortable wiht him so it will probbaly give him more of an edge, but he has to preform bc there are lots of guys coming for that role

I said pretty much that same thing a while ago in a different forum but have since wavered on that a bit. The acquisition can be partially explained by the team being decimated by injuries, so it's fathomable that played into things more than a boost for the playoffs.

While I agree that they have been after Namestnikov for a while, I don't feel like he has increased his value since that started. It was almost a low hanging fruit at the deadline, as the team has done their diligence already and he was cheap. Additionally, I think Bednar might lean toward "his guys" if it's a close race. We'll see. Maybe I'm over thinking it. Note that I didn't say he would be the odd man out; just that I wouldn't be totally shocked if it played out that way.

Its nice that we have so many forwards who can PK but remember that Nieto was the leader in forwards PK TOI. He plays a big role on the PK which could be the main reason why he may be picked over someone like Jost. Namestnikov, Nichushkin, Donskoi, Jost, etc could kill penalties, but they were never relied on heavily in that role this season. Theres a pretty clear gap between the usage of the top 4 PK forwards of Nieto, Compher, Calvert, & Bellemare and the 'next in line' guys like Namestnikov, Donskoi, Jost, & Nichushkin.

I do think you are over thinking it a bit. best guys will win out in the end, but Namestnikov isnt a bubble guy, he is clearly a top 9 player even on a healthy team. If it was purely based on play before the stoppage happened, Donskoi would be the guy looking to sit, He was stuggling a bit there while Jost was taking off and Namestnikov was producing in the top 6.

I would have to look at who was PKing more at the end of the stoppage when it really started to turn around after the injuries. I dont know if NIeto was one of those guys.
Whoever that 4 man unit was....thats who they should go with the fwds to start as the leading candidates

Nieto-Compher was the clear top PK fwd unit based on TOI right before the stoppage. Only change was Jost in for Calvert to pair with Bellemare on the 2nd unit. Namestnikov was next but he was way behind in toi

I have no issues with Nieto on the PK, this makes sense. But I do want them to limit Comphers defensively icetime, he really isnt that good defensively for how they use him. I would give more of is PK time to either Name or Jost depending on how the camp practices go. Nuke on the PK just makes so much sense I dont know whty they dont use him more

Starting to think that we might keep Jost around next season even if it's just as 13th forward. Having a deep team could be really important if there are lingering effects of the lockdowns. And if he's going to be a healthy scratch regularly in the playoffs I doubt we'll get full value for him via trade.

I agree but I think they use Compher on the PK more for his faceoffs. They dont really have many options besides Bellemare for faceoff guys to kill penalties. Im not sure how good Namestnikov is on draws but maybe that could give them another option. They could always put Landeskog or Kadri on the PK if they really wanted to but they are probably better off saving them for offensive mins

Im about them grooming Jost into that role. Figure out how to be a face-off specialist and he will be groomed to take the Compher role post expansion draft

yup that would be ideal. Or even someone like Bowers if he pans out and they move him back to C