ROCHESTER, N.Y. — With his chest emblazoned with the captain's "C" for the first time in his young career on a team pushing for the Calder Cup, Rochester Americans left wing Mason Jobst hopes to win the championship this season, but above all else, he gets the most joy out of his teammates get better.

"I didn't turn pro until I was 25. So it's been a long, very slow process for me. It was a very slow journey," Jobst said.

Jobst has gone down that long and winding road with grit, determination and a few major mentors along the way.

"When I first came [here] four years ago, we had Michael Mersch and Seth Appert, and I think that they really set the foundation for the culture," he said.

The Amerks are a team on a mission, right around the top of the AHL North Division — as of Wednesday morning, Rochester is in second place in the division, five points behind North leader Laval — success that has boiled down to the ability of a young talent pool to buy in.

"We are playing a more mature-style hockey. I think credit to the [Buffalo] Sabres; I think they've done an amazing job of drafting, you know, the really high-end draft picks that have turned out to be to be really good," Jobst noted. "I know we maybe haven't seen a ton of them yet at the NHL level, but I believe that they're all going to have a ton of success there. You're starting to see it right now with with 'Kuli' [Sabres center and former Amerk Jiri Kulich]."

Jobst said there are a lot of little things contributing to the Amerks' success this season.

"Winning a championship at this level isn't ultimately what all these guys are striving for," said Jobst. "Amongst all the levels that I've played at, the AHL is the easiest for you to root against teammates or to not be happy to see other people's success because you're a phone call away from achieving your lifelong dream. This team, I do not see that at all. I think that everyone is so supportive and truly happy for one another's success."

So the message from the captain to the locker room before they hit the ice is simple:

"We play sound defensively and play a mature game and we don't turn over the puck," he said.

And when they do hit the ice, he wants the season to end with the team hoisting the Calder Cup.

"I would love to end with a championship, of course," Jobst said. "But I think where I get the most joy is seeing the the young guys get better year after year and take big steps and then seeing them like play in the NHL."