If you’ve watched Aiden Foster play hockey, you know there’s nothing dishonest about his game. A hard-nosed, almost throwback type power forward who scores his goals from right on top of the blue paint, throws his weight around with relish, and stands up for his teammates, the 2007-born forward’s game requires no translation.
Perhaps it’s no shock then that Foster is an earnest interview, as it fits right in with his direct style of play. And as such, his enthusiasm for being in Brandon and joining the Wheat Kings is immediately evident.
“It’s a big change with a big road trip,” Foster said with a grin, describing his path to Brandon. “I’m just so excited to get here now and get the first practice under my belt with the guys. It’s a great group, you can already tell. I’m just so excited for Friday night to get going with them.”
Acquired from the Prince George Cougars, nearly 1900 kilometers away, Foster drove to his hometown of Lloydminster one day then completed the trek to Brandon the next, just in time to catch the third period of the Wheat Kings’ loss to Medicine Hat and the entirety of their victory over Prince Albert the next day. On Tuesday, he got into his first practice as a Wheat King and he’s already looking forward to his first game.
“Their culture in the room and everything, they want to win,” said Foster. “They’re a competitive team, you can see it in the standings this year. It means a lot to be joining them this early in the year.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect knows a thing or two about competitive teams. During his tenure with the Prince George Cougars, the team finished atop the Western Conference in 2023-24 and had home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs in each of the next two seasons as well. He sees a Wheat Kings team with a chance to be just as competitive.
“That’s the best part, the most fun hockey is playoff hockey,” Foster said. “It’s exciting that I can kind of jump into it right at the start. I just want to make a good impact with these fellas.”
And when Foster speaks of playoff hockey, he knows what he’s talking about. Now a fourth-year veteran of the WHL, the 6-foot-4 hybrid winger and centreman has 32 playoff games under his belt, including a run to the Western Conference final his very first season.
“It’s the most fun to play but it’s the hardest hockey to play for sure,” said Foster. “It’s so tight and so physical, but that kind of fits my game so I like that kind of hard hockey for sure.”
Foster isn’t bluffing when he describes playoff hockey as fitting his game. Heavy bodychecks and even the occasional fight are very much part of his repertoire. But Foster’s game is by no means limited to his fists and shoulders, as his five goals in four games so far this season (two against the Wheat Kings, ironically) would attest. And he’s looking to build his game even further without losing the aspects that made the Lightning interested in him to begin with.
“I’m an older play now and I’d like to grow my game,” he said. “I want to be a 200-foot player, I want to be the hardest working player all over the ice. That’s kind of always been my game but now I can add a little bit of skill and make plays out of it too. I’m not going to change myself and I know what my bread and butter is for sure, but I’m always going to be working.”
Foster first opportunity to play a game as a Wheat King will be this Friday night, as the Wheat Kings host the Seattle Thunderbirds. Puck drop is 7:00.
