I watched every clip I could find, and I watched his CHL Prospects game. It's not my favorite game viewing for sure, so I admit my read is laughably flimsy......but I find Foerster a confusing player. Not necessarily negative. I'm okay with identifying fixable flaws in a high pick, but confusion isn't my favorite prospect vibe for a 1st rounder. I'd probably feel more comfortable with him at 33 than 23.
At least in terms of stride, he's a long strider (he looks bigger than 6'2 even), and once he gets into his knee bend, his stride is far from broken. I also agree it looks cleaner off-puck. The mechanical issues seem fixable; Flahr said they followed his offseason closely. I have ranked poor skaters highly (Jason Robertson at ~15), so I don't have an inherent bias. But not all skating flaws are equal. I think it's his quickness and footwork that bother me more. Lot of upright, high center of gravity standing and sluggish starts.
I doubt he'll ever be more than mediocre as a transition player (I noticed the lazy flip dumps too) -- which isn't great in a league highly reliant on rush scoring -- but his short area skating left a lot to be desired in the o-zone too. He's got excellent reach and good hands, but I didn't exactly see a player adept at using his edges, spinning off guys, and protecting pucks. Seemed he just moved it instead. Conversely, he forechecked better than I figured when he had some momentum. I think that goes to the IQ.
His shot is high end. No point discussing that further. That will play on the PP. His hockey sense seems solid. He's not a tunnel vision shooter, and he'll move it accordingly. But I always ask myself: how will a player create 5v5 space as a pro? Having a great shot and getting that shot off are two VERY different things. Foerster seemed to drive the net hard, knew how to position himself, but again, will a player be reliant on others to find them? Or can they take the puck themselves into high danger situations? Space gets small in the NHL. You can sell me on his upside; you can sell me on his downside. Ergo: confusion. I'm still a little skeptical this wasn't something of a superficial box checking pick.
