Besides shooting for the top of the net, one of the Barrie Colts young stars is all about team goals and making the other players around him better.
For Alliston Ontario’s, Tyson Foerster he already understands that in order to become a complete player that practice and hard work are keys to having success on the ice.
In preparing for 2019-20 Ontario Hockey League season, Foerster said he began his work last summer with conditioning drills to strengthen his legs, along with working on perfecting his shot and improving his footwork.
“Tyson is very driven and has the determination to get better. I counted on him a lot this season,” Todd Miller, Barrie Colts interim head coach said. “He is definitely, a how he goes during a game, the team goes type of player. For a 17-year-old to be doing that already, he shows me glimpses of when we had Mark Scheifele.”
According to Miller, Foerster’s development began to accelerate around the midpoint of the 2018-19 OHL season. The Colts had made some trades and additions to their roster which made their team younger.
As the Colts coaching staff looked for some offensive punch, they added Foerster to the top unit of their power play. This move was the beginning of the duo of Ryan Suzuki and Foerster.
Foerster pointed out that playing alongside Suzuki is quite easy, “he is very skilled and smart and will end up doing things with the puck that will help everyone on his line out.”
“I truly believe that we can trace his (Foerster) development back to the year prior, when Tyson had the opportunity to play with Suzuki,” Miller said. “They became comfortable with each other on the ice. Both players had a positive impact on each other’s game. I believe that it translated into the beginning of this season. He (Foerster) also made Suzuki better. He progressed immensely from last year.”
With this season being filled with transition for the Barrie Colts, behind the bench with the coaching staff, along with some trades the team is counting on to improve them in the future, Foerster was a reliable steady force on and off the ice.
Miller explained that Foerster took on a leadership role and embraced it.
“He became an assistant captain and was a leader for the Colts right from the start of the season,” Miller said. “When the team ran into a rough patch and after some trades to get a little younger, Forester took the bull by the horns and ran with it. He hadn’t stopped from the start of the season until the season concluded.”
At the CHL top prospects game in Hamilton at the beginning of the calendar year, Foerster showcased his skills with two goals and an assist in front of NHL scouts in attendance.
After the shortened season, Foerster has received some positive recognition for his performance this season from both hockey scouts and OHL coaches.
Foerster, was named among the most improved players in this year’s OHL coaches poll. The OHL Coaches Poll provides member club coaches with the opportunity to recognize the top three players in 20 different skill categories within their own conference.
In early April, the OHL also announced that 57 of its players have been included in the NHL draft rankings, with Foerster jumping from No. 41 among North American skaters from his January’s mid-term rankings, up an impressive 20 spots to No. 21.
“I think an NHL team is going to get a player that is going to get better and better on a year to year basis. Tyson is still young and hasn’t grown into his body. He has a big frame, that he will be putting muscle on and that comes with age,” Miller said. “I believe he will be a Sean Monahan type of player that is going to cash in on those big moments. Tyson is dangerous in the scoring area and can defend well. Not to mention, he is a good person. All of this bodes well for him in the future.”
