Brandon adds rugged forward Foster

The Brandon Wheat Kings got bigger, meaner and more skilled after they acquired 19-year-old forward Aiden Foster from the Prince George Cougars in a deal announced on Friday morning.

Foster, a six-foot-four, 190-pound left winger from Lloydminster, Alta., was pried out of Prince George for a conditional first-round Western Hockey League pick in 2029, a third-round pick in 2029, a fourth-round pick in 2030 and a sixth-round pick in 2029. The conditions involve which of Brandon’s two first-rounders Prince George receives.

Foster said he was immediately flooded by texts from his new teammates.

“Lots of emotions went down,” said Foster, who was a fourth-round pick of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning in 2025. “I was just super excited. I just played Brandon, and to be able to see what kind of team they were and how today went down, and seeing how the boys are, I can tell it will be a fun group and a great year.

“The excitement around everything is super special for me.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the team looked closely at what it needed, and that included many of the qualities that Foster brings.

“We have a lot of depth up front but the one element we were maybe missing was a power forward with hard skill and heaviness and a presence,” Murray said. “I think he checks those boxes. He’s worked himself into a position to be on the first line for the first time in his WHL career and he’s really taken off.

“It made sense for us. He can complement any line, he can play both wing and centre, plays all situations and he’s a fourth-round NHL pick who plays hard, plays heavy.

“We were looking for a little sandpaper and I think we found that in him.”

Foster began the 10-hour drive home to Lloydminster, Alta., and will likely arrive in Brandon on Sunday afternoon to watch the team’s matchup against the Prince Albert Raiders. There’s no rush, since he’s suspended for the next two games for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct he took against the Swift Current Broncos on Oct.11.

That was his second suspension of 2026 — and just the second of his career — after he was banished from a playoff series against the Penticton Vees for two games for a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct last April.

“It is always tough trading a player like Foster,” Cougars general manager and head coach Mark Lamb said in a team release. “He grew up here and was a big part of our success. There comes a time when you look at your team and changes need to be made for different reasons.”

The emotions were a little different on the other side of the equation. Murray spoke to Foster for the first time on Friday.

“He’s really excited to be a Wheat King,” Murray said. “He’s really pumped up. He’s ready to hit the road and hit the ground running. He played us a couple of weeks ago so I’m sure he had some battles with some of our guys.

“That’s the player he is, and honestly, that’s why we were drawn to him. He is thorn in the side of his opponents and plays hard. People know when he’s on the ice.”

The Cougars alternate captain has played 203 WHL games over four seasons, with 33 goals, 34 assists and 380 penalty minutes. This season, he has five goals and seven penalty minutes in just four games.

Murray certainly got a good look at his new player on Oct. 2, when Foster scored twice in a 3-1 Cougars victory over the Wheat Kings. Foster chuckled that he likes to give it to the other team, and it’s funny that his recent foes are now his new teammates.

He said the keys to his game are simple.

“Over the years, my game has grown, and I want to keep growing it,” Foster said. “I want to be a 200-foot player. The biggest thing is that whatever the team wants, that’s what I’m going to do. I want to win and that’s the kind of player I am.”

“I like to play gritty,” Foster added. “That’s how I came into the league and made a name for myself. I’m never going to take that away from my game. That’s my biggest factor.”

Brandonite Cole Slobodian, who joined the Wheat Kings during their B.C. trip after a trade from the Portland Winterhawks, has had his fair share of battles with Foster over the years.

“He’s big and he can score,” Slobodian said. “I think he’s added that to his game recently. Definitely he’s the type of player you would want on your team, not on the other team. He’s always looking to finish hits, he’s always looking to be in your face so he’s a guy we’re super excited to have.”

Rookie defenceman Cruz Jim admits Foster found him on the ice.

“I might have got hit once or twice by him,” Jim said with a laugh. “I might have slipped one or two as well. It’s pretty awesome. He plays the game hard and is an NHL draft pick. That’s awesome that we can get him here and have that kind of game here, that tenacity, that physicality and that grit.

“That’s really important for us.”

The trade deadline is on Sunday, Jan. 10, and it will be interesting to see how active the Wheat Kings will be in the market for the next three months after making two big additions in the four weeks of the season.

Foster certainly never expected to be dealt, and admitted that leaving the only club he’s ever played with is bittersweet.

“For me, especially on this drive, it’s too much time to think about everything,” Foster said. “PG, everything they’ve done, it’s been special with those groups and the runs we went on. I feel like all summer I was just trying to get everyone excited for this year, and it was a little hard with our start.

“It’s a little bit of a blessing in disguise for my career. Everything is going to be really surreal.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com