Brian Foster (born February 4, 1987) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who is currently playing for the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

in the

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

on loan from

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL).

Early life

Foster was born in

Pembroke, New Hampshire Pembroke is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,207 at the 2020 census. Pembroke includes part of the village of Suncook. The center of population of New Hampshire is close to the Pembroke town center ...

. Before turning professional, he attended the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

where he played four seasons with the

New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East. They play at t ...

team which competes in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division I in the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

conference.

Career

Foster was selected by the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

in the fifth round (161st overall) of the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd entry draft for the National Hockey League. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, it was postponed to July 30 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Special procedures were required to determine the order ...

. During the 2011–12 season, Foster was recalled from AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

, by the Panthers on February 1, 2012, to serve as the back-up for

Scott Clemmensen Scott Lee Clemmensen (born July 23, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted in the eighth round, 215th overall, of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, he played with the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Florida Pa ...

, while starter Jose Theodore was injured. He made his NHL debut on February 4, 2012, against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

, relieving Clemmensen during the second period of the game. This would represent Foster's only NHL appearance to date, as he was reassigned to the Rampage four days later on February 8, 2012. On February 15, 2013, while playing for the

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...

, Foster became the 11th goaltender in ECHL history to be credited with a goal in the game between the Cyclones and the visiting Trenton Titans. On August 20, 2013, Foster signed as a free agent to a one-year ECHL contract with the

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yor ...

. After one season with

Lillehammer IK Lillehammer Ishockeyklubb is an ice hockey club based in Lillehammer, Norway and playing in the EliteHockey Ligaen (EHL). Home games are played in Eidsiva Arena (Kristins Hall), and occasionally in Håkons Hall. History Founded on 2 Novembe ...

in the Norwegian

GET-ligaen EliteHockey Ligaen (EHL) is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. It comprises 10 clubs and works on the premise of promotion and relegation, in which the two teams who placed last must play ...

, Foster transferred to the Danish League, signing a two-year deal with

Esbjerg Energy The Esbjerg Energy is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Esbjerg, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 2005 and play their home games in the Granly Hockey Arena which has a ...

on July 2, 2015. Foster was later released from his contract in Denmark a month later to sign an AHL contract with the

on August 3, 2015. He was later assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, to begin the 2015–16 season.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Brian 1987 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American expatriate sportspeople in Norway American men's ice hockey goaltenders Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs players Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Des Moines Buccaneers players Florida Panthers draft picks Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from New Hampshire Lillehammer IK players New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players People from Pembroke, New Hampshire San Antonio Rampage players Stockton Thunder players Wheeling Nailers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players