Personal life

Alex Foster was born August 26, 1984 in Canton, Michigan to parents Dwight and Maryann Foster. He has two brothers and one sister. His father, Dwight is a former NHL player who played for the Boston Bruins, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings during his 10 seasons in the major league. His uncle, Wes Jarvis, also played in the NHL for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Foster graduated from Salem High School in 2002.

Playing career

Amateur

Alex Foster played junior hockey in the USHL for three seasons. He played the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons with the Sioux Falls Stampede, and 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons with the Danville Wings. In his time with the Wings, he helped lead them to the final four of the USHL playoffs.

Foster joined the Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey team in 2004. During his time at Bowling Green, Foster amassed 82 points in 72 games and ranks 10th all-time at BGSU in assists-per-game, averaging .875. In his freshman season (2004-05) he was named CCHA Rookie of the Week on January 9, 2005. He finished the season as the ninth-highest scoring freshman in the conference.

In his sophomore (2005-06) season, Foster tallied 51 points in 38 games. He was named CCHA Player of the Month for November 2005, Offensive Player of the Week on November 7, 2005 and was a Hobey Baker Award candidate.

Professional

He was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 8, 2006. His contract included the maximum possible signing bonus, which was approximately US$170,000. Foster was assigned to Toronto's AHL minors team, the Toronto Marlies the next day. In his rookie (2005-06) season with the Marlies, Foster scored one goal in eight games. On October 16, 2006, Foster was reassigned to the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL, later to be recalled to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on November 11, 2006. Foster re-signed with the Toronto Marlies on July 18, 2007 with a one-year contract.

On February 24, 2008, Foster established a Toronto Marlies single season record for short-handed goals when he scored his fifth short-handed goal of the season against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

On March 17, 2008, Foster was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs and made his NHL debut the following night against the New York Islanders, wearing jersey #32. He would appear in three games before being reassigned to the Toronto Marlies on March 26, 2008. In his three games he totaled one shot, no points, and no penalty minutes.

On October 22, 2010, he was named the third captain in Toronto Marlies history.

On June 7, 2011, after spending his 6th professional season within the Maple Leafs organization, Foster left as a free agent and signed a one-year contract with European team, HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga. He spent the 2012-13 season split between HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga and Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

On June 20, 2013, Foster opted to remain in Germany to sign a one-year contract with the Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2001-02	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL		57	6	15	21	72		3	0	1	1	8
2002-03	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL		5	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Danville Wings	USHL		55	23	30	53	91		6	1	2	3	6
2004-05	BGSU Falcons	CCHA		34	8	23	31	33		2	1	3	4	0
2005-06	BGSU Falcons	CCHA		38	11	40	51	40		2	0	0	0	2
2005-06	Toronto Marlies	AHL		8	1	0	1	6		—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	Columbia Inferno	ECHL		9	1	10	11	6		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	Toronto Marlies	AHL		58	8	9	17	31		—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Toronto Marlies	AHL		67	18	28	46	30		19	2	6	8	12
2007-08	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Toronto Marlies	AHL		80	12	23	35	88		6	2	3	5	8
2009-10	Toronto Marlies	AHL		30	9	8	17	10		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	Toronto Marlies	AHL		70	10	24	34	28		—	—	—	—	—
2011-12	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		52	11	12	23	34		5	1	1	2	20
2012-13	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		31	3	2	5	45		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Adler Mannheim	DEL		10	1	1	2	10		4	0	1	1	6
2013-14	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL		52	13	28	41	26		9	1	3	4	8
2014-15	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL		50	10	24	34	65		7	3	1	4	2
NHL totals				3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-CCHA Second Team	2005-06

• CCHA Rookie of the Week of January 10-16, 2005
• CCHA Offensive Player of the Month of November (2005)
• CCHA Offensive Player of the Week
• Single Season Franchise Record (Toronto Marlies) for Shorthanded Goals (5) (2008)
• Toronto Marlies Fan Favourite Award 2008

[ Source: Wikipedia ]