Tyson Foerster’s sophomore season was a bit of a let down for a while, but he turned it on at the end.
Mar 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Tyson Foerster (71) against the Calgary Flames at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The season started slow for Tyson Foerster, but he finished with a bang, registering nine goals in the games after John Tortorella was fired. He even threw a hat trick in there and, in back-to-back games, nearly scored a second one. That strong finish and ever-solid underlying play earned Foerster a two-year bridge deal, so let’s get into his season.
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | Shots on Goal | Shooting Percentage | Average Time On Ice |
| 81 | 25 | 18 | 43 | 49 | 142 | 17.6 | 16:52 |
As we mentioned at the top, a good chunk of Foerster’s scoring in the final weeks of the season. Most of the year, however, he scored sporadically; in February and March, he had a 14-game scoring drought, which isn’t what you want to see from a player touted to have an elite shot.
Guess when he broke that streak, though–that’s right, the first game after Tortorella was fired. Foerster then scored eight more over the final eight games for good measure. That’s what you like to see, and hopefully he can carry that over into the 2025-26 season.
Is a 17.6 shooting percentage sustainable, though? It’s too early in Foerster’s career to tell but, considering how highly touted his shot has been, maybe this will be the norm–his career average is 14.8% over parts of three seasons, with 2023-24’s 12% his lowest. A long-term, 15-plus percent goal scorer with strong underlying play is quite the asset to have. Plus, if he starts getting to the net more like in the following clip, we could see him crack 30 or more goals next year.
Now about that underlying play…
| Goals-For Percentage | Expected Goals-For Percentage | Corsi-For Percentage | High Danger Chances-For Percentage | PDO |
| 50.57 | 51.76 | 47.42 | 55.34 | 1.006 |
Foerster was one of only three Flyers forwards to have a goals-for percentage over 50–the other two were his linemate, Noah Cates, and de facto top-line center Sean Couturier. His expected goals share was more middle of the pack but, as a sophomore, still impressive. The main reason his expected and actual goals-for percentages mostly aligned? That 1.006 PDO was the second highest among regular Flyers forwards, which means a) the players on the ice scored at a higher rate (Foerster’s on-ice shooting percentage of 10.6 was third-highest among all regular Flyers) and b) they actually got saves from their goaltenders (the on-ice .900 save percentage for Foerster was fourth among regular Flyers). Add in that Noah Cates had the highest PDO of regular Flyers forwards, and you start to see how the Foerster-Cates-Bobby Brink line were strong in the offensive zone and rarely gave anything back defensively.
| Points Per 60 | Shots Per 60 | Shot Attempts Per 60 | Expected Goals Per 60 |
| 1.74 | 5.82 | 12.1 | 2.38 |
Foerster’s rate stats were relatively middle of the pack, so there’s not much that jumps out here. However, his 5-on-5 goals per 60 of 0.9 was tied with Morgan Frost for second among regular Flyers forwards, and the leader in that category was…Owen Tippett, with 1.08? Huh, maybe Tippett didn’t have as bad a season as we might’ve thought, but that’s another article entirely.
Three Questions
Did he live up to expectations?
If you’d asked this question in December, the answer would be no, but since we’re considering the entire season it’s a resounding, “yes.” While the scoring only became prolific in the final weeks of the season, the underlying play was strong all year and we’d call it an overall successful sophomore effort.
What can we expect from him next season?
Hopefully, a continuation of the scoring he uncorked in late March. In his first season, Foerster scored 20 goals; in his second, he scored 25–it only stands to reason that he will crack 30 in his third full NHL season. Perhaps a new coaching staff and a functioning power play will be enough to get him there.
How do we grade his 2024-25 season?
There’s not a lot to dislike about Foerster’s season, but there isn’t a lot to gush about, either: he maintained his strong underlying play from his rookie year, and finished his sophomore year with more goals and points. Steady progression is better than peaks and valleys, so Foerster grades out well.
