Ranking the top 31 Prospects in the 2020 NHL Draft: 21 Tyson Foerster

The rangy goal-scoring winger broke out for the Barrie Colts this past season

Tyson Foerster (RW/C), Barrie (OHL)

H: 6’1″ W: 194 lbs

A big-time producer, Foerster does a lot of things well, especially on the offensive side of the puck. Honing one of the hardest shots in the draft, there’s no wonder why Foerster found his game last season with his howitzer.

2019-2020 Recap

GP: 62 G: 36 A: 44 P: 80 +/-: -17

Coming off of his rookie season where his production was pedestrian (23 points in 64 games), Foerster found a way to become one of the most improved players in the whole CHL.

Playing on a weak Barrie Colts team, Foerster was far and away their best player and didn’t have to rely on his teammates to produce. The best power-play goal scorer in all of the CHL, Foerster had 18 goals on the man advantage, mostly due to his incredible shot.

Also appearing in the CHL Top Prospect’s game, Foerster was awarded the MVP after scoring two goals for Team White, a game that garnered the Barrie Colt a lot more attention.

Tyson Foerster was named MVP for Team White at the CHL Top Prospects Game! He had two goals and one assist in the game. #CHLKTP #NHLDraft @tfoerster8 pic.twitter.com/izq0WrUw5z
— Ryan McArthur (@ryanpmcarthur) January 17, 2020

Play Style

Despite playing centre in junior, look for Foerster to be a winger at the NHL level. This is mostly because of his skating, he’s not the fastest skater and it’s an area of his game that will need improvement.

A lot of Foerster’s goals on the power play were off of the one-timer, he can let it absolutely rip from his office, which is usually near the top of the circle.

Foerster most likely projects as a goal-scoring winger at the next level, who will be a staple on a teams first power-play unit. Craig Button sees Foerster as a premier scoring winger at the next level and compares him to Corey Perry, a good comparable as Perry never relied on his skating, he just used his great shot and competitiveness to find ways to score. Button graded Foerster’s two best attributes as his scoring touch and hockey sense, both at a 4.5/5, while unsurprisingly Foerster’s weakest grade was a 3/5 for his skating.

Many people (including me) have linked Foerster’s game to Mark Stone, both not the fleetest of foot, but they both always think a step ahead and will find ways to produce in a variety of ways.

Likely out of reach at 28

Ottawa’s third pick of the first-round is at 28, which leaves them in no mans land for a lot of the middle first-round prospects and Foerster most likely first that bill.