The 21-year-old made a major impression during his brief stay with the Flyers last season.
Roster spots are very much up for grabs in this year's iteration of Philadelphia Flyers training camp. The Flyers are entering the first full season of a proper rebuild, and with veteran players Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov and James van Riemsdyk all out of the picture, younger players have a legitimate shot at making the leap to the NHL and taking on key minutes.
One of those players, of course, is Tyson Foerster. Selected with the No. 23 overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the 21-year-old forward is not only a candidate to take the ice for the Flyers' season-opening game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 12, but possibly a lock.
After an eyebrow-raising 2022-23 campaign, Foerster knows where he belongs.
"I think that's everybody's goal that's here is to make the Flyers, and that's for sure my goal," Foerster told the media on the opening day of rookie camp Thursday.
"I think I'm ready."
Foerster was a game-changing player for the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season. In 66 games, he logged 20 goals and 28 assists for a team-leading 48 points. And during his short stint with the Flyers last March, he averaged nearly a point per game with three goals and four assists through eight contests.
After his impressive — albeit brief — showing in the NHL, his coach from Lehigh Valley isn't naive to the fact that his days in the minors could very well be over.
"When the Flyers called him up, he was a different player than we saw two years ago," said Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere. "He was managing the puck like a veteran out there. We all know he can shoot the puck, we all know he can make plays, but there's more to that in (the NHL). A lot of guys can shoot the puck, they can score, but they can't play in this league because there's other things around that, and Tyson improved so much last year in that.
"A lot of things can happen, but I'm not expecting him back in Lehigh Valley."
Foerster has been attacking the summer with an NHLer's mentality. He spent most of the offseason in Philadelphia living in a house with Joel Farabee and Wade Allison while primarily focusing on building muscle and improving his skating with Flyers conditioning coaches Dan Warnke and DeRick O'Connell.
Skating, in particular, was one of Foerster's primary weak spots when the Flyers selected him in the 2020 draft. Due to an awkward stride and lack of breakaway speed, there were valid questions about his overall ceiling as a future NHLer.
Foerster was not oblivious to this blemish in his game, though, and he's made it a priority to improve his skating to the point that it is not only acceptable in the pros, but possibly even a strength.
"I think I proved myself a bit last year," Foerster said of his skating. "I don't think my skating is bad at all. I think I'm a pretty good skater now, and I want to show that."
Foerster will have numerous opportunities to show off his skating improvements throughout rookie camp and training camp. Flyers youngsters will play a pair of exhibition games against the New York Rangers Friday and Saturday, respectively. Just over a week later, the Flyers will play their first of six preseason games.
Presumably, a whole lot of eyes will be glued to Foerster throughout the preseason. But at this point, no one will be surprised if — or when — he forces his way onto the opening-night roster.
Especially not Laperriere.
"I feel like you walk around him, he's confident, he's got that swagger about him that I love — everybody loves. He's probably gonna be at the next level and be there for a while."
