Rachel Tos spent seven seasons as the Colorado Avalanche’s in-arena host and team reporter before announcing in August 2026 that she was stepping away. Rachel Tos joined the club in September 2019, took on rinkside reporting for Altitude TV five years later, and hosted the club’s own show, Avs Insight. Everything she did before 2019 is filed under the surname Richlinski.
| Fast facts: Rachel Tos | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Hosting Avalanche games inside the arena, reporting rinkside on Altitude, and hosting Avs Insight |
| Status | Announced on 13 August 2026 that she was leaving the role after seven years |
| Employer | The Colorado Avalanche directly, plus Altitude TV from December 2024 |
| Joined | September 2019 |
| Hometown | South Louisiana |
| Education | Louisiana State University, journalism with a broadcast concentration and a minor in sports studies |
| Previous roles | Covered Mississippi State women’s basketball and baseball for a station in Jackson, Mississippi |
| Hockey connection | None as a player. She played softball and volleyball |
| Also written | Rachel Richlinski, her name before 2019 |
Who is Rachel Tos?
Rachel Tos held three jobs around an Avalanche game. She was the in-arena host, employed by the club rather than a network, serving as the voice and face in the building between stoppages. She was the club’s team reporter and the host of Avs Insight, its own program. From December 2024, she was also a rinkside reporter for Altitude TV, hosting from the studio on selected road trips.
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Is Rachel Tos still the Avalanche’s host?
No. Rachel Tos announced on 13 August 2026 that she was leaving. She addressed the post to Avs fans, called it a very difficult decision to step away from her role as team reporter and host of Avs Insight, and thanked them for making the seven years more meaningful than she could have imagined.
She gave no reason, and no employer, club, or established outlet has published one. Altitude has not announced a permanent successor in the reporter and host role either.
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What is Rachel Tos’s real name?
She was Rachel Richlinski, and Tos is her married surname. The practical consequence is large: her entire pre-Avalanche career, including three seasons covering Mississippi State women’s basketball and its baseball team at the College World Series, is indexed under Richlinski.
What is Rachel Tos’s career?
| Year | Role | Outlet |
|---|---|---|
| Student years | Journalism with a broadcast concentration; worked at the student station | Louisiana State University, Tiger TV |
| First job | Covered Mississippi State women’s basketball for three seasons, and its baseball team at the College World Series | Station in Jackson, Mississippi |
| September 2019 | In-arena host, team reporter and host of Avs Insight | Colorado Avalanche |
| December 2024 | Rinkside reporter and studio host for selected road trips | Altitude TV |
| August 2026 | Announced she was stepping away | — |
Rachel Tos had been the Avalanche’s in-arena host for five full seasons before the club’s television partner put her on a broadcast.
The first months were the hard part. A new job, a new sport and a new city at once, she told a student publication that profiled her in 2020, and that much newness made it very challenging.
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Did Rachel Tos have a baby?
Rachel Tos announced on 2 December 2025 that she was expecting, writing that the baby was due in April and that she thanked God every day for the gift. The Avalanche confirmed the timing from their side in March 2026, when the club said she would be away and named a fill-in.
Who filled in for Rachel Tos?
Kate Pettersen. The Avalanche announced at the end of March 2026 that Pettersen would fill in while Tos was away, welcoming her in a club post. Pettersen had been the Vancouver Canucks’ rinkside reporter before that, which made the move a step across to a division rival.
The arrangement was described as temporary from the start. When Tos announced in August 2026 that she was not coming back to the role, no permanent appointment followed.
Was Rachel Tos the Colorado Rockies in-game host?
No. The Rockies host people are thinking of is Kim Becker, whose employer biography lists her as a former in-game host for both the Colorado Rockies and the Denver Broncos before she moved into hockey.
The confusion has a reason. Becker hosted Avalanche LIVE on Altitude TV before the Utah Hockey Club hired her as its television studio host in September 2024, so for a stretch both women worked on Avalanche coverage for the same network. Becker’s full biography sits on the Utah broadcast team page. Rachel Tos has no published connection to the Rockies.
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Where is Rachel Tos from?
South Louisiana. Tos grew up there playing softball and volleyball, went to Louisiana State University to study journalism with a minor in sports studies, and realized she wanted a media career while she was at Tiger TV, the university’s student-run station.
Her first job took her to Jackson, Mississippi. When that contract ended, she moved back to Baton Rouge, applied for the Avalanche job while she was looking for work, and took the offer over the phone at home. She has said she arrived in Denver with about a week to spare before preseason.
How old is Rachel Tos, and is she married?
She is married, and Tos is her married name. She has not publicly named a husband. No salary figure has ever been published for her either.
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