Alexander Dwight Foster (born August 26, 1984) is a retired American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

forward who last played with the

Brampton Beast The Brampton Beast were a professional ice hockey team based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The team originally played in the Central Hockey League for one year during the 2013–14 season prior to the league's folding before joining the ECHL f ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. He is the son of former NHL player Dwight Foster and nephew of former NHL player

Wes Jarvis Wesley Herbert Jarvis (born May 30, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League with four teams between 1979 and 1988, though much of his career was spent in the minor American Hockey Leagu ...

. Prior to advancing to the professional ranks, Foster played both

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

and

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

. He played his collegiate hockey at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

. After leaving college in 2006, he was signed to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

organization. He played for their

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, occasionally being called into action for the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

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 The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings during his 10 seasons in the major league. His uncle,

, also played in the NHL for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and Toronto Maple Leafs. As a youth, Foster played in the 1998

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Detroit Compuware

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. He graduated from Salem High School in 2002.

Playing career

Amateur

Foster played junior hockey in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

for three seasons. He played the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons with the

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...

, and 2002–03 and 2003-04 seasons with the Danville Wings. In his time with the Wings, he helped lead them to the final four of the USHL playoffs. Foster joined the

Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Div ...

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. In his freshman season (2004–05) he was named CCHA Rookie of the Week on January 9, 2005. 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. He was named CCHA Player of the Month for November 2005, Offensive Player of the Week on November 7, 2005 and was a

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

candidate.

Professional

Foster was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 8, 2006. His contract included the maximum possible signing bonus, which was approximately US$170,000. Foster was assigned to Toronto's AHL minors team, the Toronto Marlies the next day. In his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

(2005–06) season with the Marlies, Foster scored one goal in eight games. On October 16, 2006, Foster was reassigned to the

Columbia Inferno The Columbia Inferno were an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2008, the team went on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County, South Carolina. However, the ECHL dropped Columb ...

of the

, 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. 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 The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...

. On March 17, 2008, Foster was called up to the

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. On October 22, 2010, Foster was named the third captain in Toronto Marlies history. 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 Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as w ...

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The le ...

. He spent the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

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 The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as '' ...

of the DEL. 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 The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current cha ...

of the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

. On September 22, 2017, he agreed to a one-year ECHL contract with the

Toledo Walleye The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at ...

. 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 The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. History On June 2, ...

, on October 17, 2017. After opening the season with 5 games for the Rush, Foster was traded to the

on November 11, 2017.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* *
Alex Foster biography
at BGSU Falcons official Site {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Alex 1984 births Adler Mannheim players American men's ice hockey centers Belfast Giants players Bolzano HC players Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey players Brampton Beast players Columbia Inferno players Danville Wings (USHL) players HC Sparta Praha players Ice hockey players from Michigan Iserlohn Roosters players Living people People from Canton, Michigan Rapid City Rush players Sioux Falls Stampede players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Undrafted National Hockey League players