Set for world juniors, Foerster has ‘all the intangibles and the skill set’ Flyers need originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers will be patient with Tyson Foerster.
The 20-year-old winger was out for most of last season after suffering a shoulder injury and undergoing surgery in November.
But make no mistake, the Flyers’ brass is eager for his strengths.
Foerster will look to put his strengths on display for Team Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The action gets underway Tuesday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The tournament, which was halted last winter because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be broadcast on the NHL Network.
Foerster, a 2020 first-round draft pick, is one of four Flyers prospects competing at this year’s world juniors. Joining him are forward Elliot Desnoyers (Canada) and defensemen Emil Andrae (Sweden) and Brian Zanetti (Switzerland).
The Flyers are hoping Foerster can soon provide a much-needed lift to their chances at scoring goals from the flank. The organization has lacked shooters like Foerster, who is a goal-seeking winger that loves to fire away around the circles.
“He’s a natural-born goal scorer,” Flyers development coach Chris Stewart said in September 2021. “He has an NHL shot right now and definitely the future’s bright for him.”
Last season, the Flyers scored 2.56 goals per game, the second fewest in the NHL, and had a league-worst power play percentage at 12.6.
The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Foerster is projected to open the 2022-23 season at AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. He’ll push for the big club in the preseason and throughout the year, but the Flyers won’t rush him after he missed precious development time because of his injury.
“The work ethic, his stick, he strips pucks, he’s really underrated defensively and the way he reads the play,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said at his end-of-the-season press conference in May. “His hockey sense, he’s got the big shot, sees the ice. For a young player like that basically missing the majority of his 19-year-old season, ideally, you’d like to give him the time to develop.
“He has the hockey sense, the skill, the drive, the determination — he has all the intangibles and the skill set that we need. But I’d like to think that we have enough depth that we don’t need to force anybody. into situations where they’re not ready to be in, like I think we had to do this year far too often. The goal with him would be to make sure he’s ready when he gets here.”
Below is the full schedule for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship:
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