Alex Foster (ice hockey)

Alexander Dwight Foster (born August 26, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who last played with the Brampton Beast of the ECHL.

Alex Foster
Born (1984-08-26) August 26, 1984
Canton, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
HC Sparta Praha
Adler Mannheim
Iserlohn Roosters
HC Bolzano
Belfast Giants
Rapid City Rush
Brampton Beast
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–2018

He is the son of former NHL player Dwight Foster and nephew of former NHL player Wes Jarvis. Prior to advancing to the professional ranks, Foster played both junior hockey and college hockey. He played his collegiate hockey at Bowling Green State University. After leaving college in 2006, he was signed to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He played for their farm team, the Toronto Marlies, occasionally being called into action for the NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Early life

Foster was born August 26, 1984, in Canton, Michigan, to parents Dwight and Maryann Foster. He has two brothers and one sister. His father, Dwight is a former NHL player who played for the Boston Bruins, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings during his 10 seasons in the major league.[1] His uncle, Wes Jarvis, also played in the NHL for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs.[2]

As a youth, Foster played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Compuware minor ice hockey team.[3] He graduated from Salem High School in 2002.[4]

Playing career

Amateur

Foster played junior hockey in the USHL for three seasons. He played the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons with the Sioux Falls Stampede, and 2002–03 and 2003-04 seasons with the Danville Wings.[5] In his time with the Wings, he helped lead them to the final four of the USHL playoffs.

Foster joined the Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey team in 2004. During his time at Bowling Green, Foster amassed 82 points in 72 games and ranks 10th all-time at BGSU in assists-per-game, averaging .875.[4] In his freshman season (2004–05) he was named CCHA Rookie of the Week on January 9, 2005.[6] He finished the season as the ninth-highest scoring freshman in the conference.

In his sophomore (2005–06) season, Foster tallied 51 points in 38 games.[7] He was named CCHA Player of the Month for November 2005,[8] Offensive Player of the Week on November 7, 2005[9] and was a Hobey Baker Award candidate.

Professional

Foster was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 8, 2006. His contract included the maximum possible signing bonus, which was approximately US$170,000.[10] Foster was assigned to Toronto's AHL minors team, the Toronto Marlies the next day.[11] In his rookie (2005–06) season with the Marlies, Foster scored one goal in eight games.[12] On October 16, 2006, Foster was reassigned to the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL, later to be recalled to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on November 11, 2006. Foster re-signed with the Toronto Marlies on July 18, 2007, with a one-year contract.[11]

On February 24, 2008, Foster established a Toronto Marlies single season record for short-handed goals when he scored his fifth short-handed goal of the season against the Hamilton Bulldogs.[13]

On March 17, 2008, Foster was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs and made his NHL debut the following night against the New York Islanders, wearing jersey #32. He would appear in three games before being reassigned to the Toronto Marlies on March 26, 2008. In his three games he totaled one shot, no points, and no penalty minutes.[11]

On October 22, 2010, Foster was named the third captain in Toronto Marlies history.[14]

On June 7, 2011, after spending his 6th professional season within the Maple Leafs organization, Foster left as a free agent and signed a one-year contract with European team, HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga.[15] He spent the 2012–13 season split between HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga and Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

On June 20, 2013, Foster opted to remain in Germany to sign a one-year contract with the Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL.[16]

After six years abroad playing across Europe, Foster returned to the United States as a free agent following the 2016–17 season with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League. On September 22, 2017, he agreed to a one-year ECHL contract with the Toledo Walleye.[17] Prior to playing in the 2017–18 season, Foster was released from his contract with the Walleye and later signed by fellow ECHL club, the Rapid City Rush, on October 17, 2017.[18] After opening the season with 5 games for the Rush, Foster was traded to the Brampton Beast on November 11, 2017.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 57 6 15 21 72 3 0 1 1 8
2002–03 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 5 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Danville Wings USHL 55 23 30 53 91 6 1 2 3 6
2004–05 BGSU Falcons CCHA 34 8 23 31 33 2 1 3 4 0
2005–06 BGSU Falcons CCHA 38 11 40 51 40 2 0 0 0 2
2005–06 Toronto Marlies AHL 8 1 0 1 6 — — — — —
2005–06 Columbia Inferno ECHL 9 1 10 11 6 — — — — —
2006–07 Toronto Marlies AHL 58 8 9 17 31 — — — — —
2007–08 Toronto Marlies AHL 67 18 28 46 30 19 2 6 8 12
2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Toronto Marlies AHL 80 12 23 35 88 6 2 3 5 8
2009–10 Toronto Marlies AHL 30 9 8 17 10 — — — — —
2010–11 Toronto Marlies AHL 70 10 24 34 28 — — — — —
2011–12 HC Sparta Praha CZE 52 11 12 23 34 5 1 1 2 20
2012–13 HC Sparta Praha CZE 31 3 2 5 45 — — — — —
2012–13 Adler Mannheim DEL 10 1 1 2 10 4 0 1 1 6
2013–14 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 52 13 28 41 26 9 1 3 4 8
2014–15 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 50 10 24 34 65 7 3 1 4 2
2015–16 Bolzano HC EBEL 49 9 16 25 18 6 1 2 3 19
2016–17 Belfast Giants EIHL 36 10 18 28 10 1 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Rapid City Rush ECHL 5 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Brampton Beast ECHL 61 15 23 38 34 — — — — —
NHL totals 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-CCHA Second team 2006

References
  1. "Dwight Alexander Foster". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  2. "Wes Herbert Jarvis". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  3. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  4. "Player Bio: Alex Foster". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  5. "Alex Foster's profile at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  6. "Alex Foster Named CCHA Rookie of the Week". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  7. "Bowling Green 2005-2006 Season Statistics". Bowling Green State University. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  8. "Foster Named RBC Player of the Month". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  9. "Alex Foster Named CCHA Offensive Player of the Week". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  10. "Inside College Hockey Extra". ESPN.com. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  11. "Alex Foster". TSN.ca. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  12. "Alex Foster Individual Statistics". Toronto Marlies. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  13. "Alex Foster Finally Gets the Call". Hockeyanalysis.com. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  14. "Marlies name Foster Captain". Toronto Marlies. 22 October 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  15. "American Foster and Slovak Bliznak will play for Sparta" (in Czech). HC Sparta Praha. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  16. "Alex Foster signs a year contract with Iserlohn" (in German). Iserlohn Roosters. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  17. "Walleye sign veteran forward Foster". Toledo Walleye. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  18. "Rush sign veteran Foster". Rapid City Rush. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
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