JOBST PERSEVERES TO BECOME AMERKS CAPTAIN
Amerks newest captain speaks on the journey to this achievement
Oct 10, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
Undersized and overlooked. This has been Mason Jobst’s story for much of his career.
“I've been up against it my entire life,” said Jobst. “Even in college, I was the last guy to get a commit or get recruited. I just find that I have to eventually get my foot in the door of the level I'm trying to get to, and then I prove myself and my worth and I trust the process.”
Jobst, now 30, was once a 25-year-old breaking into pro hockey with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2019-20. His rookie season would see the Speedway, Indiana, native walk into the locker room on the morning of games. Sometimes his name would be in the lineup. Sometimes it wouldn’t.
“Those early years were riddled with healthy scratches and lots of injuries and stuff. I think it just makes the feeling a little bit more prideful. I grinded through those times and I've made it to this point in my career.”
Jobst’s uphill battle continued his second season, when he was moved to Binghamton from Bridgeport, then again in year three when the center first ended up in Rochester. Jobst had four goals and 13 points in 26 games, then got dealt again, this time to San Jose, in 2021-22.
But Jobst saw and believed in the process, and more importantly, himself.
“I trusted the process at this level. It was a little bit slower than maybe some of the previous steps that I've had to take throughout my career, but I always believed in myself that I could get to this point. And, you know, being named captain; I knew that I would be a leader regardless, whether I wore a letter or not.
Then the news came. Surrounded by his teammates in the Amerks locker room, new head coach Michael Leone officially named Jobst the 64th captain in Rochester’s near seven-decade franchise history.
“The person and the character,” said Leone when asked about what sticks out about Jobst. “Every person I spoke to when I got the job talked about what an incredible human he is and I’ve seen it every day. What a story he has. He wasn’t on a contract and then he gets an NHL contract and that’s pretty hard to do at his age. He was outstanding at training camp. I can’t say enough about him. I talked with him a lot over the summer to build a relationship because I knew what an important piece he is to our team.”
“I think he’s a guy that you see daily actions drive his behavior. Even in meetings you can tell he’s engaged. It’s great for young guys to be around because you can learn a lot like that,” added Leone.
“I feel like that's my personality is to just try to help others and lead by example,” said Jobst. I compete extremely hard, so I knew that I had the attributes of what it took to be a leader. I kind of looked at myself as someone that was helping drive the bus, even though I never wore a letter in the past.”
Jobst wants to lead by example and across all aspects, not just on the ice. It’s a role he doesn’t take for granted because it’s a role he was never promised in his pro career. The sixth-year pro wants to usher in a new era of Amerks hockey, but with it comes several lessons he’ll adopt from his predecessor and former Amerks captain, Michael Mersch.
“I love Merschy,” said Jobst. “I think he was the best captain I ever had throughout my career. I got closer and closer with him over the years and just admire the way he handles himself, the way he prepares and how he pays attention to the little details. Last year in playoffs, I lived with him quite a bit. We got to watch a lot of hockey and just talk about those types of things and so I really had been watching the way he handled himself. I feel like I just picked up on a lot of things outside of the rink with the way he helped build this culture.”
The new captain describes the Amerks locker room as “the most judgement free team” he’s ever been on, crediting Mersch as a driver behind that messaging that helped each player wearing the red, white, and blue to feel comfortable and welcome whenever they came to Blue Cross Arena.
Now, those tasks are bestowed upon Jobst. The undersized, overlooked forward has been named captain for the second-oldest franchise in American Hockey League history. The underdog who was told he couldn’t, in fact, did, overcome odds to become an NHL-contracted player at 30 and a team MVP for Rochester a season ago.
Jobst enters a new season, and in many ways, a new chapter in his pro career, but it’s the moments of adversity and the obstacles that were put on the road in front of him that have made him ready for this moment.
“I enjoy holding myself accountable and trying to hold the guys accountable and make it not only just like the best hockey team, but an all-around experience and environment for staff and players and wives and girlfriends and everyone to feel like this is a place where they want to be.”