Flyers winger Tyson Foerster looking to round out his pro game with a physical edge

When winger Tyson Foerster arrived in Lehigh Valley last year for the start of the Phantoms season, head coach Ian Laperrière noticed that the young winger wasn’t fully healthy and was dealing with shoulder issues. Those issues worsened in November when he dove to keep a puck in the zone, injuring his shoulder and requiring surgery that would keep him sidelined for nearly six months.

But when Foerster, 20, arrived at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees this week for rookie camp, Laperrière found that he looked “like a different kid” after putting on muscle in the offseason.

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“Last year he came to us injured,” Laperrière said. “And now this is in the past. He had surgery. He had a great year of rehab. He looks like a man now. He’s got those big shoulders and everything.”

Foerster, the No. 23 pick in the 2020 draft, spent the offseason training in Voorhees to prepare for camp. He placed an emphasis on improving his skating, leaning on player development coach Kjell Samuelsson and Phantoms assistant coach Riley Armstrong for guidance. Now that Foerster feels healthy, he’s looking to show that he has more to offer than a powerful shot.

“I feel like I’m a big player,” Foerster said. “I need to use the body a lot more and I think that’s what I’m going to start doing.”

If the 6-foot-2, 194-pound Foerster can incorporate an element of physicality into his game, Laperrière said he will be able to create more room for himself in the offensive zone. That will be especially helpful when Foerster makes the full-time jump to pro and faces off against bigger, stronger men. Foerster is already having success using his body more effectively — at the World Juniors in August while representing Canada, his physical side stood out to Laperrière.

“I watched his games this summer, and I thought he was a force, physically,” Laperrière said. “I didn’t know he had that in him.”

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Still, Laperrière wants Foerster to show off his shot in rookie camp and not become too fixated on getting physically engaged by being “an idiot out there.” After all, his goal-scoring ability attracted the Flyers at the draft two years ago, and it would be a welcome addition to a Flyers roster in need of scoring help.

“That’s not my decision, but I think hopefully, I can be with the Flyers,” Foerster said. “That’s my goal and that’s what I want to do.”

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Upon his arrival at rookie camp, winger Zayde Wisdom was greeted with the compliment from the Flyers development staff that he worked his whole summer toward hearing: “You look good.”

Wisdom, 20, called their response to his improved physical condition “a confidence boost.” After he hurt his shoulder at a Hockey Canada camp last summer, Wisdom struggled to get back in playing shape when he returned to his junior team, the Kingston Frontenacs. Going into the offseason, general manager Chuck Fletcher and assistant general manager Brent Flahr encouraged Wisdom to work on his conditioning ahead of his first full professional season.

“I was basically on the assault bike or doing some sort of conditioning, whether it was running outside during those hot days or inside on the assault bike or skating on the ice,” Wisdom said. “It was a lot of conditioning, like four to five times a week. And I feel ready. I feel prepared.”

Laperrière lauded Wisdom for his hard work in the offseason. That kind of dedication should pay dividends for Wisdom this upcoming season as he looks to get off on the right foot with Laperrière and the rest of the Phantoms coaching staff.

“I know he likes hard workers, and I feel like I can provide that,” Wisdom said. “He tells me all the time, ‘Just work and then I’ll love you.’ And it’s getting through my head now, and I’m starting to understand that, and I’m excited to have him as a coach.”