Brian Foster (born February 4, 1987) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who is currently playing for the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

on loan from

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL).

Early life

Foster was born in

Pembroke, New Hampshire Pembroke is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,207 at the 2020 census. Pembroke includes part of the village of Suncook. The center of population of New Hampshire is close to the Pembroke town center. ...

. Prior to turning professional, he attended the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

where he played four seasons with the

New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East. They play at the ...

team which competes in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I in the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

conference.

Career

Foster was selected by the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

in the fifth round (161st overall) of the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

. During the 2011–12 season, Foster was recalled from AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

, by the Panthers on February 1, 2012, to serve as the back-up for

Scott Clemmensen Scott Lee Clemmensen (born July 23, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender, who played with the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career A native o ...

, while starter

Jose Theodore Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

was injured. He made his NHL debut on February 4, 2012, against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

, relieving Clemmensen during the second period of the game. This would represent Foster's only NHL appearance to date, as he was reassigned to the Rampage four days later on February 8, 2012. On February 15, 2013, while playing for the

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Cen ...

, Foster became the 11th goaltender in ECHL history to be credited with a goal in the game between the Cyclones and the visiting Trenton Titans. On August 20, 2013, Foster signed as free agent to a one-year ECHL contract with the

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yor ...

. After one season with

Lillehammer IK Lillehammer Ishockeyklubb is an ice hockey club based in Nestan, Norway and playing in the GET-ligaen. Home games are played in Eidsiva Arena (Kristins Hall), and occasionally in Håkons Hall. History Founded on 2 November 1957, Lillehammer IK ...

in the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

GET-ligaen Eliteserien, known as Fjordkraftligaen due to sponsorship, is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. It comprises 10 clubs and works on the premise of promotion and relegation, in which the tw ...

, Foster transferred to the Danish League, signing a two-year deal with

Esbjerg Energy The Esbjerg Energy is a Denmark, Danish professional ice hockey team based in Esbjerg, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 2005 and play their home games in the Granly Hockey Arena which ...

on July 2, 2015. Foster was later released from his contract in Denmark a month later in order to sign an AHL contract with the

on August 3, 2015. He was later assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, to begin the 2015–16 season.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1987 births Living people American men's ice hockey goaltenders Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs players Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Des Moines Buccaneers players Florida Panthers draft picks Florida Panthers players Lillehammer IK players New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players People from Pembroke, New Hampshire Ice hockey people from New Hampshire San Antonio Rampage players Stockton Thunder players Wheeling Nailers players American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans {{US-icehockey-goaltender-stub