Foster staying consistent with Tigers

If there’s anyone who knows how to raise the bar year after year, it’s Ian Foster.

Just when it seems the 17-year-old forward for the Westman High School Hockey League’s Neepawa Tigers will have a hard time topping his offensive totals from his previous season, he finds a way and reminds everyone how high his ceiling really is.

It all started for Foster in his rookie season with the Tigers, when at the age of 15, he notched 31 goals and 59 points in just 39 WHSHL games. He also tallied seven more goals and 15 points in the annual Neepawa Slasher Showdown and Victoria Inn tournaments, boosting his overall totals to 38 goals and 74 points.

It was a picture perfect rookie season and it only got better in his second campaign with Neepawa last year, when the classic “sophomore slump” was most definitely not in play.

In 36 WHSHL games, Foster cashed in just shy of the 40-goal mark with 39 goals — 10 of which came on the man advantage — and 84 points, which would be lifted to 97 if you also count his play in the same two tournaments.

He carried a 5.28 points per game average and now, that accomplishment seems even less impressive considering his numbers this season, where he’s averaging 6.24 pt/g average thanks to his 36 goals and 61 points — with 45 of them coming in WHSHL action — scored this year.

“I just know my role and I always push myself to be better,” Foster said on Monday. “I just try to bring myself up and try to bring everyone else to a higher level of play that they can.”

Foster, who’s averaging more than a goal per game, has helped his squad achieve a 15-6 record through 21 games, where they currently sit tied for fifth place in the WHSHL standings with the Virden Golden Bears (14-9-2), but with four games in hand. Only the Swan Valley Tigers (21-1-2), Vincent Massey Vikings (18-2-1), Dauphin Clippers (18-6-1) and Glenboro/Carberry/Baldur Wildcats (14-5-4) have the upper hand on Neepawa, as the season finishes up at the end of the month.

With his high school career now winding down, Foster has had a chance to look back at just how far he’s come, and while filling the scoresheet has become second nature for him, it wasn’t always that way.

Before his introduction to the Tigers jersey in high school, Foster played for the Yellowhead Chiefs U15 AAA team, where he was not really leaned on to produce as he managed just six goals and 10 points in 34 games. With limited production, albeit against skilled competition, Foster wasn’t sure what to expect with Neepawa, but a combined 232 points wouldn’t have been the first scenario to cross his mind.

“It’s definitely shocked me,” said Foster. “I did not have any idea that this would be the case in high school with my production, so it’s cool to see.”

Foster, who’s also in his second year being an assistant captain, is a hard-working forward who carries some grit when he goes into the corners to battle for loose pucks, but his biggest asset is his hard, accurate shot.

He credits his offensive success over the years to his linemates, who’ve always managed to find him all over the ice as a threat to score. This season he’s played with Luke Nicholson and either Kane Lapointe or Ben Richard on the left wing.

Chemistry comes with time, which is exactly why between them it comes so easy as they’ve played together for almost three seasons now with them all being in Grade 12. Foster believes that’s what gives them an advantage over other teams.

“We just all know where each other are,” he said. “They don’t stop skating, they don’t seem to ever get tired and he knows where I am, so he can just throw the puck to wherever blindly and I’ll be there, so it’s really helped my goal scoring and just being able to find them too and giving them the puck when they’re open.”

Foster said former teammate Cohen Kulbacki is also an other big reason he’s been able to break out on the stat card, as the 19-year-old who now plays in the Tiger Hills Hockey League with the Neepawa Farmers was the one who showed him how to remain calm with the puck, while also putting yourself in good positions to score.

He’s hoping those abilities will shine through in the post-season, when the Tigers will look to redeem themselves following a disappointing effort last year when the Dauphin Clippers swept them in the quarterfinals.

“Last year we didn’t do too well, in my personal opinion, so we’re really excited for playoffs.” said Foster. “This year we need to keep our tempers lower, stay out of the box and really need to focus on scoring goals and defence.”

They have to finish out their regular season schedule before they can shift their mindset, though.

Neepawa still has seven games left, including three games this week, as it plays on the road today against the Birtle/Shoal Lake/Rossburn Falcons (4-17-2), then at home against the Sandy Bay Badgers (7-13-2), before capping off the week with the Tigers sixth annual cancer care charity match, which will be played on Friday against the Minnedosa/Erickson Chancellors (8-17).

“I’m really excited,” Foster said of Friday’s contest. “I’m hoping there’s a really big crowd and it means a lot for our program to put on this cancer game and raise money for charity.”

Neepawa is hoping to best its $5,700 threshold that was set in last year’s game.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com