Dwight Foster (ice hockey)
Dwight Alexander Foster (born 2 April 1957 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player. He was drafted to the National Hockey League (NHL) in the first round, 16th overall in 1977 by the Boston Bruins. Besides Boston, he played for the Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, before retiring in 1987 because of knee injuries.
Bio
Having led the tough Ontario Hockey League in scoring, Foster was a highly rated prospect going into the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. The New York Islanders seriously considered selecting him fifteenth overall, but settled on future Hall Of Fame forward Mike Bossy instead.[1] Foster was known as a strong defensive forward with marginal offensive ability, while Bossy was a prolific scorer who was not very physical. In the end, Islanders coach Al Arbour convinced general manager Bill Torrey that he should pick Bossy, arguing that it was easier to teach a scorer how to check.
Foster went next to Boston. That same year, he helped Team Canada win the silver medal at the World Junior Championships.
A solid two-way centre, Foster would play in the NHL until 1987, finishing with 274 points in 541 career games.
Foster is a father of four: Dwayne, Peter, Alex and Genevieve. Foster's son Alex is also a professional ice hockey player. Foster's son Peter got a scholarship to the United States Air Force as a goaltender, played for four years and is now stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, with the Air Force.
Team records
- 1976–77: Most points – Kitchener Rangers (143)
- 1976–77: Most assists – Kitchener Rangers (83)
- All-time most points – Kitchener Rangers (382)
- Most goals in a game – Kitchener Rangers 1976–77 (5)
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1973–74 | Kitchener Rangers | OHA | 67 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 61 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1974–75 | Kitchener Rangers | OMJHL | 70 | 39 | 51 | 90 | 88 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1975–76 | Kitchener Rangers | OMJHL | 61 | 36 | 58 | 94 | 110 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 28 | ||
| 1976–77 | Kitchener Rangers | OMJHL | 64 | 60 | 83 | 143 | 88 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Team Canada | WJC | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1977–78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1977–78 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1978–79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1978–79 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 21 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1979–80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 57 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 42 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1979–80 | Binghamton Dusters | AHL | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1980–81 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 77 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 62 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1981–82 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 70 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 41 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1982–83 | Wichita Wind | CHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 58 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 58 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1983–84 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 52 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 50 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 56 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 55 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 48 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1985–86 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 541 | 111 | 163 | 274 | 420 | 35 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | ||||
References
- ↑ Good and lucky at NHL draft http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Draft/2012/06/19/19897566.html
External links
- Dwight Foster's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Dwight Foster's biography at Legends of Hockey
| Preceded by Clayton Pachal |
Boston Bruins first round draft pick 1977 |
Succeeded by Al Secord |