MONDAY FEATURE - 2023 AHL All-Stars: Ronnie Attard & Tyson Foerster

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In the initial announcement of 2023 AHL All-Stars, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms had two players on the roster - Tyson Foerster and Cam York.

In the weeks leading up to the All-Star skills competition and game, the roster for the Atlantic Division changed several times with York and other players being listed as unavailable for the American Hockey League's (AHL) premiere event.

"It's great," Foerster said when asked of his selection to the team last month. "There's a lot of good players going there and I think a lot of guys could have went from our team, but I was lucky enough to get selected."

Players were added to the roster, and Forester's words ended up being prophetic as teammate Ronnie Attard was added to the roster prior to Saturday's final regular season game before the All-Star break.

Both players left Hershey on February 4th after the game and met up with the team's owners to fly to Laval ahead of Sunday's skills competition and Monday’s AHL-All Star game, where their coach will be Hershey's head coach, Todd Nelson.

For Foerster, the nod is not only a well-deserved reward for his play this season, but also a testament to his perseverance through a number of injuries that derailed his first season in the AHL.

The first round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers (#23 overall) joined the Phantoms in the 2020-2021 season when the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season was cancelled and the AHL was flexible with its eligibility rules for under 20-year-old Canadian junior hockey league players.

In his first professional game in Hershey, he suffered a lower-body injury, a broken shin on February 6, 2021.

By April he was back to form with three two-goal games, but that luck ran out in November when shoulder surgery once again side-tracked another year of development just nine games into his 2021-22 season. He later returned to game action and was returned to the OHL where he got back up to game speed and ready for his first full season at the AHL level this fall.

Undaunted, Foerster returned to Allentown for the 2022-2023 season and came to a realization about his game - he needed to make some adjustments.

"I think at the start of the year, I was kind of just going through the motions. Then, once I realized that I had to do that everywhere - start working everywhere, I just practiced my shot, practiced skating, (getting) my hands in front, everything," Forester said, noting that these changes in practice habits led to a difference in his game play.

Those changes in practice habits have led to more productivity on the ice. In 44 games this season, Forester has registered a team-leading 17 goals, including one in Lehigh Valley’s 5-1 victory over the Bears at Giant Center on February 4, and 13 assists. He has seven multi-point performances and sits second on his team in points.

While Foerster is still awaiting a recall to Philadelphia and his NHL debut, his All-Star teammate, Attard, burst onto the scene in April of 2022, recording two goals and two assists in 15 games with the Flyers after his third season at Western Michigan University.

In addition to earning All-Star honors in his rookie season, Attard racked up awards at WMU including AHCA West First Team honors in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, NHCH Offensive Defenseman of the Year, and was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award in 2021-2022. He was the USHL Player and Defenseman of the Year in 2018-2019 while playing for the Tri-City Storm.

Attard has appeared in 43 games for the Phantoms this season. He has recorded seven goals and 12 assists, leading Lehigh Valley’s blueliners in goals scored and points. One of those assists came Saturday night in Hershey on Bobby Brink's power play goal in the third period.

"They've been working so hard all year," said Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere with a big smile. "They get rewarded for everything they've done and they're [both] having a heck of a year. I'm just happy that they're going in my neck of the woods, [Quebec] is home for me, so I know they'll go and put on a heck of a show for those kids. It's a great experience. They'll be able to say in the future when they're in the NHL that they were AHL All-Stars in pretty much their first year."

Foerster added, "Its pretty cool. I'm super excited for my friends and family to come. I'm looking forward to meeting all of the guys there. We play against some of them a bunch of times and you don't get a lot of chances to talk to them, so it will be cool to meet some of the guys."

Both Attard and Foerster competed in the Skills Competition Sunday evening, which was won by the Eastern Conference All-Stars 16-10.

Attard competed in the Fastest Shot Competition, recording a 97.2 mph shot which would have won the competition if not for two of his Eastern teammates recording faster shots.

Foerster went 4-for-6 in the Accuracy Competition but ended up in second thanks to a perfect 4-for-4 from David Gust.

Foerster also scored in the Breakaway Competition for the East All-Stars.

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