From the Florida sunshine in July, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Aiden Foster could taste NHL life, even if development camp is just a sneak peek.
Read more: Year in review: A look at events in October 2025
The 18-year-old forward from Lloydminster arrived in Tampa overnight Saturday, June 28, just hours after the Lightning selected him in the fourth round of the NHL draft with the 127th pick overall.
“They set everything up really good for us,” Foster said Sunday night as prospects gathered for Tampa’s weeklong camp. “It’s a really nice hotel spot and our meal tonight was really nice, so we’re pretty lucky. We’ll see how the week goes.
“That’s the exciting part of all this, just getting a glimpse. It kind of makes you want it more. It’s an eye-opener. You can take everything you learned from here back (to junior) and it gets you ready for pro, which is obviously the goal.”
Foster’s goal became a step closer to reality at about 1 p.m. Saturday when the Lightning called his name during the second day of the NHL draft from Los Angeles. He was sitting at home in Lloydminster, watching TV coverage of the draft with his family and his girlfriend and preparing to host more family members later that afternoon for his high school graduation barbecue.
“It worked out good — it was a draft and grad barbecue,” said Foster, part of the Class of 2025 from Lloydminster Comprehensive High School.
“It was just me and my family watching, and then everyone else came over after (I was drafted) — my uncles, aunties and grandparents.”
Foster has spent the past three years with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL, playing a physical brand of hockey that endears him to teammates and fears many of his opponents. His draft stock rose appreciably in the second half of the 2024-25 season, with NHL Central Scouting ranking him 89th among draft-eligible North American forwards. Factoring in goaltenders and Europeans, that projection was right in the ballpark with Foster’s selection late in the fourth round.
His sister Alivia, who plays defence with the U18 AAA Lloydminster Steelers, heard the magic words — Prince George — in the background while TV broadcasters were talking just seconds before Foster’s name was called.
“It was kind of weird how it happened,” Foster recalled. “My sister jumped up and said, ‘You got drafted,’ but no one else heard it.
“A couple of seconds later, my name popped up on the screen and I was just like, ‘Holy crap.’ I was speechless and just hugged everyone. It was an unreal feeling. I still can’t really believe it.”
The six-foot-three, 180-pound Foster made a believer of the Lightning, whose head scout and Western league scout followed him closely during the past season and did their homework on the Lloyd boy.
At least five teams, particularly the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs, had shown substantive interest in possibly drafting Foster, or at least inviting him to their development camp, if he wasn’t selected.
“You never really know (what could happen),” he said. “I was really surprised, to be honest.”
That draft unpredictability was evident with the players ranked immediately above and below Foster. Brandon Wheat Kings forward Carter Klippenstein, rated 88th among North American skaters, went to the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round, 123rd overall, while Halifax Mooseheads forward Liam Kilfoil, ranked 90th in the same category, wasn’t selected in the seven-round draft.
Foster’s draft shock still hadn’t subsided when a couple of surprise visitors showed up in his garage that rainy afternoon as his family was setting up for the celebratory barbecue. His hometown hockey buddies — Kade Fendelet from the junior A Bobcats and Cayden Wildeman from the junior B Bandits — were wearing Tampa hats, right on cue.
“That was pretty much half an hour after I was picked and they were already there to congratulate me,” Foster said.
“It was pretty crazy and all happiness at the same time, and to see my buddies there and how excited they were, it was really cool.”
Fendelet and Wildeman had rushed to the Lids store in the LloydMall and bought Tampa caps. Soon after, Foster’s family members from Saskatoon and his grandfather from Lloyd purchased the remaining Lightning hats in the same shop.
“They all showed up to my house wearing Tampa Bay hats, so that was pretty cool,” he said. “I guess the person working in the store was saying, ‘What’s the big thing with these Tampa hats?’ They got the last five. They sold out.”
Before he even had a chance to sample any Lightning team clothing, Foster already had a busy afternoon of congratulatory calls and interviews.
“My phone was blowing up and a bunch of people from Tampa called me, and then I hopped on a Zoom call with media from down here (in Florida),” he said. “I was wearing a collared shirt and some nice pants, just ready for the barbecue. I was kind of prepared, but when (my draft selection) happened, I couldn’t really wrap my head around it. I can’t really believe I’m here (in Tampa) now and part of this organization.”
Lightning vice-president and general manager Julien BriseBois was among those who called that special Saturday to welcome Foster to the team.
One of the first players to congratulate Foster on draft day was Prince George teammate Josh Ravensbergen, the six-foot-five goaltender selected in the first round Friday night when the San Jose Sharks chose him 30th overall.
Read more: Year in review: A look at events in December 2025
p:last-of-type {
display: inline;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-main .author-bio-link {
display: inline-flex;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-main .author-bio-link a {
display: flex;
align-items: center;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-main .author-bio-link a svg {
fill: black;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-footer .author-expertises {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
gap: 10px;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-footer .author-expertises .author-expertise {
padding: 4px 8px;
font-size: 14px;
border-radius: 4px;
background-color: #DCDDE1;
color: inherit;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-footer .author-socials {
margin-top: 12px;
display: flex;
gap: 6px;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-footer .author-socials .aioseo-social-icon-tumblrUrl {
margin-left: -2px;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-site-editor-disclaimer {
color: black;
margin-bottom: 12px;
font-style: italic;
}
@media screen and (max-width: 430px ) {
.aioseo-author-bio-compact {
flex-direction: column;
gap: 20px;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-left .aioseo-author-bio-compact-image {
display: block;
margin: 0 auto;
width: 160px;
height: 160px;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right {
text-align: center;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-header {
justify-content: center;
}
.aioseo-author-bio-compact-right .aioseo-author-bio-compact-footer .author-socials {
justify-content: center;
}
}]]>
