Tyson Foersters Shot is a Weapon the Anaheim Ducks Desperately Need

Tyson Foerster is bringing a big-time shot to a power-play near you should the Anaheim Ducks decide to draft him with their 27th overall pick.

One day we could look back and say in hindsight that the Anaheim Ducks supposed interest in Patrik Laine foreshadowed a changing of the guard. A shift in a different direction so to speak. The Ducks were going to give up on smooth-skating two-way players and transition to players who could bury the biscuit with regularity. It’s wild to imagine, but should the Ducks truly be considering a move in that direction, the big shooting Tyson Foerster could hear his name being called out by Bob Murray in but a few days.

Tyson Foerster Profile

Date of Birth: January 18, 2002 Place of Birth: Alliston, ON, Canada Draft Year Team: Barrie Colts (OHL) Position: Right Wing Shoots: Right Height: 6’1”/185 cm Weight: 194 lbs/88 kg

Who Is This Guy?

Tyson Foerster is a winger with good size, coming out of the OHL system. His growth between his D-1 and D-actual seasons is stark and clearly shows why he’s placed himself on the map with regards to the 2020 entry draft. This past season he straight up massacred the competition on his way to a 36-goal, 80-point season. A season which leapfrogged the 10-goal, 23-point effort he produced the season prior.

Not bad for a shortened 62-game season. For those who like such things, Foerster also took home player of the game honors for the CHL “Top Prospects” game back in January this season, on the back of his 2-goal, 1-assist game. It’s worth noting here that his birthday sits pretty square in the middle of the draft eligibility, so there’s no real cause for concern nor joy at the spike in his development. Either way, PNHLe has him lifting his game from “maybe 3rd-line” to “1st-line” scorer. It’s a big jump and an exciting one, I think.

What are His Strengths?

Straight up, if you hear anything at all about this guy, it will be about his absolute cannon of a shot. Compared in some circles to Ovechkin or Stamkos on the power play (direct quotes later in the piece), you simply know that this young fella can unleash from the circles when with the man advantage. In fact, a great deal of his scoring came from the top of the left circle. It’s possibly the best shot from there in junior hockey and seems like it should translate to the NHL with relative ease.

It’s interesting to note the difference between Foerster and fellow draft hopeful Jacob Perreault about here. Perreault is able to get his (primarily) wrist shot off from bad angles and can do so from misplaced passes that do not necessarily hit him on the tape. It’s a wonderful skill to have and should serve him well.

Foerster, however, has a one-timer threat that is no joke and which he unleashes with regularity. Preference between players could come down to what offensive threat each drafting team feels they are more in need of. However, the likelihood of Perreault still being available at 27th overall is slim.

Though for the Anaheim Ducks, it’s worth noting that Foerster has better size and is strong on the forecheck. These aren’t necessarily skills that should dictate a draft spot, but they are variables that Murray may consider. Particularly in light of him trading away the bigger-bodied Nick Ritchie this past season.

Speaking of the Ducks illustrious GM, I mentioned earlier that Murray enquiring about Patrick Laine may foreshadow a changing of the guard, well Mr. Foerster here could be a homemade replacement when the Ducks inevitably do not pay the price to acquire Laine. More than anything, when was the last time the Ducks had a genuine one-timer threat on the power play? When was the last time they had a genuine shooter that teams had to lock down onto?

A Big-Time Shooter

There is a financial consideration to be made with developing these players as opposed to trading for them. If Murray is considering the idea of actually spending assets to acquire a goal scorer of Laine’s ilk, he must surely be considering drafting and developing a big-time shooter of his own.

A shooter, Foerster certainly is. He pumped out 3.62 shots per game this past season. A figure that was good for 17th overall in the league and 196 more than the player with the next greatest shot volume on his team.

Given the Anaheim Ducks, as a team ranked 28th, 31st, and 28th in shot generation over the past three seasons respectively, there is scope to improve that aspect of their game moving forward. A big-time volume shooter with some snarl to their shot would be a welcome addition.

The thing that can run some players into trouble is everything that leads up to the shot. Is their positioning right? Can they read the defensive coverage? Are they able to find space? Luckily, the answer for Foerster is that yes, he can do all of these things. This leads me to imagine that even should his flaws hold him back from a genuine top-6 role in the NHL, his nous and ability to shoot and get into position, in order to shoot, will allow him to carve a niche as a power-play specialist.

The league doesn’t necessarily run dedicated power-play specialist forwards, expecting their big-time goal scorers to play top-6 roles and score at even strength as well, however, there is scope for the role to be explored in the future. With that aside, if your player is punching in 40 goals per season of the power play alone, you take that and run with it.

While Foerster will definitely be making his money scoring off with the man advantage, it’s worth mentioning that he’s no slouch as a playmaker. He did, in fact, end up with more assists than goals this season which adds to his threat as a multifaceted scorer. For the most part, Tyson is very good at anticipating the play. This show’s itself in his ability to find shooting lanes, yet he also uses that ability to read the play to find open teammates on the offensive end.

What Bob Murray will like to see is that his positional play also rears its head on the defensive end of the spectrum. Foerster is able to contribute significantly to his team’s structure defensively due to his good anticipation and work effort. This is a stark contrast to his draft competitor Jacob Perreault who, we’ll say is a work in progress on this end of the ice to be kind. I don’t necessarily think that he’ll ever be considered a penalty killer, or be placed in prime defensive forward roster spots, but it’s notable for a team that seemingly thrives on finding “two-way” players.

What is His Kryptonite?

The common knock on Foerster is his skating ability. Right out in front, this is one of the factors that have Perreault ranked above him on most draft boards. Depending on who is discussing Foerster, the comments range from “adequate” to being a straight-up liability. I’ll confess this confuses me in a few ways.

His first few steps aren’t terrific and he isn’t much of a factor carrying the puck in transition, meaning that he generally needs someone else to gain the offensive zone for him right now. –Brock Otten

Firstly, skating should be a somewhat correctable skillset with the right coaching. Foerster does lack rapid acceleration from his first step. There’s simply no denying this. However, acceleration can often be remedied by 1) acceleration drills (obvious but hey, here we are), and 2) increasing lower body strength and power. Certainly, at this stage of his career, it’s highly unlikely that Foerster will ever be confused with Andrew Cogliano, however, I find it equally unlikely that the player will not get stronger than he is now. That he won’t, partake in speed or acceleration skating drills.

Let’s put it out here right now, Foerster’s top-end speed is actually quite good and leans towards being above average. He’s not exactly a turtle wading through peanut butter out there. He is also quite strong on his skates and is difficult for his peers to knockdown. His edgework and agility really leave nothing to be desired.

This shows us that he has a toolset from which to develop more explosive first-step acceleration, as both maximum speed and the ability to stay strong through checks present aspects of lower body strength. Different strength profiles than acceleration, but similar enough to suggest that there is a foundation for the building they would be constructing.

The long and short of it is that Foerster is not quite physically developed as others in his draft class may be. This gives the Anaheim Ducks a very exciting “in” should they take a chance on the big shooting player. With a little patience and a nudge in the right direction, the Anaheim Ducks could easily find themselves with a player who’s blooms late in his physicality yet already owns a devastating weapon in his shot. The upside to that is quite frankly ridiculous.

A further factor that could weigh into the Ducks decision making is their current stock of players. Many of the Ducks players are excellent at moving the puck in transition, yet lack teeth to their bites on the offensive end. Take a Troy Terry for example, who ranked in the top-20 of all NHL forwards at transitioning the puck into the offensive zone, yet has a pretty impotent shot with which to finish that excellent work.

Terry is likely to make his living in the bottom-6 forward group from now on. But now imagine Terry carrying the puck into the offensive zone as he does. He then makes a play (which is his strong suit comparative to his own shot) to get the puck to the trailing skater who owns a massive one-timer threat and who can score nearly at will. That third line of good work with little reward now suddenly becomes a big problem for opposition defenses.

At some stage, the Anaheim Ducks will need to put together a “team” in the truest sense of the word. While selecting the best player available is certainly an option, they should also consider how the jigsaw pieces will fit together. Foerster’s downside, even should he not improve upon it, fits within the Ducks framework as a potential asset.

Who Said What Now?

Firstly, let’s have a look at what those in the know have to say about all the warm, gooey, good stuff…

“The first thing that sticks out about Foerster is his cannon of a shot. It resembles a little bit of Alex Ovechkin when you watch him. He scored quite a few of his goals from the left circle. By the time the puck was in the net, the goalie barely moved. It’s lethal. He can unleash his shot from any area of the ice and there’s a chance it will go in. While his shot is great, don’t discount his passing. He’s hockey sense allows him to be creative and can find the right play. Offensively there’s hard to find fault in his game.” –Mark Scheig

“There are a couple of things that really stand out with Foerster. The first is his cannon of a shot. He loves to set up at the dot near the half wall and like Ovechkin/Stamkos, he can unleash a powerful one timer or a quick snap shot that beats goaltenders clean. And he really moves well without the puck, jumping into gaps and anticipating the play very well. The puck seems to find him in the offensive zone and he doesn’t waste time getting the puck off his stick. The second thing is his play away from the puck. He is a very intelligent two-way player who gets his stick in passing lanes, wins battles along the boards, and is active on the forecheck forcing turnovers.” -Brock Otten

Now for those addressing the elephant in the room. His skating…

“Foerster has been rising my personal OHL rankings with each viewing. While the skating is still fairly raw, it’s not really that bad and can be worked on. I’ve seen some flashes of good transition speed from Foerster, though he struggles at beating defenders one on one in pure foot races. Foerster’s shot is the skill that stands out the most for me and behind Perfetti, he has one of the better shots in the OHL for this draft class. While you can never truly predict a player’s growth potential, Foerster seems to me to be one of those cases where, with the proper developmental system, he could outperform his drafted position.” –Dylan Galloway

“Everyone says that he can’t skate well enough but he gets there. Everyone said he’d drop off after Suzuki left but he keeps scoring. Everyone said he was a borderline selection for the Top Prospects game so he went and got the MVP. Kid is a player.” –Mark Seidel