Dwight Foster was a solid two-way centre who could be effective on both specialty teams. He was equally adept at scoring goals, setting up his teammates and winning faceoffs.
Foster was a junior scoring sensation for the OHA's Kitchener Rangers. After leading the league with 143 points in 1977, he was chosen 16th overall by the Boston Bruins at the Amateur Draft. That same year he helped Canada win the silver medal at the World Junior Championships. His biggest moment at the tournament was scoring the vital insurance goal during a 5-3 win over Sweden.
Foster spent most of the 1977-78 season in junior but did see action in 14 games for the Bruins. He gradually assumed greater responsibility over the next two seasons then broke through with 24 goals in 1980-81, his first injury-free season. Playing on a line with Rick Middleton and Stan Jonathan, Foster was a versatile worker with three goals each on the power play and while shorthanded. After the Minnesota North Stars in the first round of the playoffs eliminated the Bruins, Foster was not resigned.
He came to terms with the Colorado Rockies and scored 31 points in 1981-82. Throughout the year he was haunted by the fact that the Bruins switched first round picks with the Rockies as compensation for his signing. Colorado's poor season meant that Boston was in possession of the first overall pick at the 1982 Entry Draft.
Foster remained with the team when it relocated to New Jersey in 1982-83. Early in the season he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for cash. He was a solid all round player in Motown for parts of four seasons. In 1983-84 his strong defensive play helped the Red Wings make the playoffs for the first time in six years. Foster was traded to Boston in March 1986 and played the 1986-87 season there before retiring.
