SUNRISE, Fla. — There is very little or no chance Avalanche rookies Tyson Jost and Sam Girard will be loaned to Hockey Canada to play in the upcoming World Junior Championship in Buffalo, Avs coach Jared Bednar said Saturday after an optional morning skate at the BB&T Center.

“It’s not up to me, but if it were I’d say no. They’re part of our team and we need them,” Bednar said.

Jost and Girard, both 19, said they haven’t had any conversations with Colorado general manager Joe Sakic or anyone else with the team about playing in the under-20 WJC, which begins Dec. 26. Sakic was at the NHL board of governors meetings this week in Palm Beach, Fla., and he rejoined the team Saturday in Sunrise. He told The Denver Post he will do what’s best for the continued development of Jost and Girard, but he doesn’t anticipate making either of them available to Hockey Canada for the WJC.

Hockey Canada has invited 32 players to next week’s three-day camp in St. Catharines, Ontario, and the roster includes 2017 Avalanche-drafted defenseman Cale Makar and Connor Timmins.

Jost, who played for Canada at the WJC last year, logged only 12:41 in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Tampa Bay. But he’s still the left wing on the “Kid Line” with fellow rookies Alex Kerfoot and J.T. Compher, who both are logging 15-22 minutes a game. Jost has played in just 11 of 27 games because of two lower-body injuries and eventually he is expected to be a mainstay on the power play and penalty kill. He played on the power play during captain Gabe Landeskog‘s recent four-game suspension. Related Articles Avalanche’s Cale Makar wins Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year

Avalanche re-signs former DU star Logan O’Connor on two-year contract

Chambers: Nathan MacKinnon is not your typical Lady Byng winner

Nathan MacKinnon wins Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship

Joe Sakic says Avalanche will stick with Philipp Grubauer, Pavel Francouz in goal, reveals latter was injured vs. Stars

“I’m just getting in my groove after being hurt so long,” Jost said. “I want to be here. Hockey Canada, whenever you can represent your country, it’s such an honor. I had my chance last year. Right now, honestly, I’m just focusing on playing on the Avs, focusing on earning the coach’s trust and put up numbers. Obviously, I haven’t been doing that and I’m trying not to get frustrated because I’m getting my chances and getting that opportunity. It will come. That’s what I’m focused on right now and just getting in this rhythm.”

Jared Bednar going with same lineup here in Florida — 11 forwards, 7 D. Yakupov scratched again #Avs pic.twitter.com/SI20FNtRPA — Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) December 9, 2017

Girard’s ice time has steadily decreased since he played 20 minutes or more in his first eight games. He logged a season-low 15:35 at Tampa Bay when the Avs went with seven defensemen. But that’s no reason to assume Colorado would allow him to play for Canada in the WJC.

“His game has dipped a little bit (but) he’s a young player and I think that’s expected,” Bednar said. “He’s trying to work it back and aware of some of the things he’s good at and needs to be good at. Like other guys in our lineup we need to best out of him, so if it’s not where we feel he’s capable of, then he’s going to lose a little bit of ice time as he continues to work through it.”

Footnote. The Avs will use the same lineup Saturday from what they had against the Lightning, thus they’ll have one extra defenseman (seven) and one fewer forward (11) than normal. Goalie Semyon Varlamov will again start in net.