Foerster living up to Crosby's scouting report, excelling with Flyers

Tyson Foerster was one of the first players Rick Tocchet was looking to learn about when he was hired as Philadelphia Flyers coach May 14.

He got a pretty good scouting report about his new player from one of his old players.

"Sidney Crosby called me and told me he loved him," said Tocchet, who was with Crosby for three seasons (2014-17) as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins. "So, when you hear that from one of the best players, that a guy on your team he really likes ... pretty good endorsement."

So far, Foerster is proving Crosby's assessment to be spot on.

The 23-year-old is third on the Flyers with six points (three goals, three assists) in eight games and first with a plus-7 goal differential at even strength.

He's also stood out for some of the things that don't show up on the score sheet, like his competitiveness and ability to win battles and control pucks along the boards. He's seeing significant time on the power play (2:25 per game) and the penalty kill (2:02).

"He's such a smart player," Tocchet said of Foerster. "He's an all-situational guy. He's got a [heck] of a shot. A couple goals, those are elite shots."

The brains and the shot are what stood out to Crosby during their time as teammates with Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark. They were put together as linemates for the final two games of the tournament, and Foerster scored a goal assisted by Crosby in a 5-3 win against Sweden in the preliminary round.

"Just his ability to create plays," Crosby said. "I think you play against a guy and there's certain things that stand out. His shot is definitely something, from playing against him, that I thought stuck out right away. From seeing him every day and playing with him, it's someone who can create a lot as well, just from winning a battle, finding open ice. That's something that stuck out.

"Basically 'Tocc' and I were just talking about him getting the job in Philadelphia and having played a lot against [the Flyers], we were talking about different players. [Foerster] is someone that came up, and having played with him and knowing that I thought he was somebody I thought Tocc would enjoy coaching just because he cares about every area of the game and is somebody that's pretty responsible out there, so I thought he'd be someone, for someone coming in there, he'd probably appreciate his game."

Getting that kind of validation from a player of Crosby's status is a fantastic confidence boost for Foerster, now in his fourth NHL season.

"It's pretty cool," Foerster said. "I mean, there's not much else to say besides it's awesome. He's obviously one of the best players ever, so to hear that from him is pretty cool. It's confidence, but it's also just like, sweet."

Foerster will have a chance to thank Crosby for those compliments when the Penguins and Flyers kick off the "NHL Frozen Frenzy," when all 32 teams will be in action, at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Tuesday (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS).

Getting to spend time with Crosby on and off the ice during their time together at Worlds was a learning experience.

"It's nerve wracking at first, but once you get to know him, it's pretty cool," Foerster said. "You're asking him a little bit of questions ... it's all about watching, just to see what he does every practice. He's out there after practice, before practice. Just watching that stuff, to see how hard he works, just to keep his game where it's at.

"The way he knocks pucks down, any saucer pass. Defensively, he's knocking it down. He's so hard on his stick to win battles and stuff. His stick is so short, but he can get so much torque on it, he's so strong on it. Just little stuff like that."

Off the ice, Foerster studied how Crosby put in the work that allows him to stay an elite player at age 38.

"He takes his body seriously," Foerster said. "He's doing a whole bunch of stuff off the ice, warming up before games and stuff like that. That was pretty cool to see. It's something I want to get doing."

And to think, Foerster almost said no to the opportunity.

"Me and [Flyers forward Travis Konecny] at the time were pushing him to go, thought it'd be a good thing for him to do and go over there and be a part of it," said Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, who also played at Worlds. "He had some hesitation, and I think after going over there, he loved every second of it. He got to play with some different players. Obviously, Sid was one of them."

Foerster had three points (two goals, one assist) in seven games at Worlds, the most high-profile international event he's played. That came after he scored 20 goals in 77 games as a rookie in 2023-24 and 25 goals in 81 games last season.

Now with the praise he received from Crosby, Foerster is starting to understand he's on the right track toward becoming a top-end NHL player.

"I knew what I had to do to get into the League," he said. "I wasn't always the fastest skater, but working on that, just try and pick up on the little things that he was doing, and every other guy does, so I think it's pretty cool that he said that."

Foerster's Flyers teammates haven't seen anything new from him, except the confidence to lean into his existing talent.

"Confidence is huge in this league, especially as a young guy," Sanheim said. "You always feel like you're on your toes, and you're trying to work hard every day and find a consistent spot in the lineup, a consistent role. And I think to kind of get that confidence in you and understand that, hey, you're a really good player in this league. Not only do you need to believe it, but there's a lot of guys in the League that believe it, and a lot of high-end guys believe it. I think that's going to bode well for him moving forward.

"A lot of that stuff was already in his game. ... I think going over there, seeing those guys do it, and them demanding him to do it, it's going to help him in the long run. I think as we progress here throughout the season, you're going to see him take a really big step."