The clock at Erie Insurance Arena showed 9:20 remaining in sudden death in Game 7 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals. Warren Foegele drove his skates into the ice, matched the London Knights defenceman stride for stride, and forced a turnover along the half-wall. He gathered the puck, cut toward the net, and tucked it past Tyler Parsons.
The goal eliminated the defending Memorial Cup champions and sent Erie to the conference final. It also validated the move made four months earlier by Otters general manager Dave Brown, who traded for the overage forward to secure heavy five-on-five minutes.
The Prep School Foundation
Foegele bypassed the standard major junior pathway. Raised in Markham, Ont., he skated for the Toronto Nationals in the GTHL and the Markham Waxers in the ETAHL.
He stood five-foot-eight in minor midget. OHL clubs passed over him twice in the Priority Selection.
Foegele chose the prep school route, enrolling at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ont. Under head coach David Manning, he grew six inches between his sophomore and senior seasons, reaching six-foot-two and 205 pounds.
As alternate captain in 2013–14, Foegele posted 58 goals and 49 assists in 52 games.
In June 2014, the Carolina Hurricanes selected Foegele in the third round, 67th overall, directly out of high school.
“A hard driving, good skating, get in the ‘guts of the action’ player who plays unselfishly and does the spade work for his team,” said Craig Button, director of scouting for TSN.
Foegele spent his freshman season at the University of New Hampshire under head coach Dick Umile, recording 16 points in 34 games. Five games into his sophomore year, he left campus to enter the OHL.
Arrival in Kingston
The Kingston Frontenacs held Foegele’s rights from the 2014 draft. General manager Doug Gilmour signed him on Oct. 30, 2015, and head coach Paul McFarland placed him beside Lawson Crouse and Juho Lammikko.
Foegele wore No. 37 and accepted Kingston’s defensive demands.
“Right now I am just here to help the team win and contribute,” Foegele said upon arrival. “If [a pro contract] happens then it happens. Right now my focus is on winning hockey games.”
Acting head coach John Goodwin noted the fit: “He’s a top-six forward all day long in this league. We’re lucky to have him.”
Foegele produced 13 goals and 35 assists in 52 games, finishing at plus-32 while killing penalties with Ted Nichol.
In the 2016 playoffs, Foegele scored eight goals and two assists in nine games. Kingston swept the Oshawa Generals for its first series win in 18 years before bowing to Niagara. Foegele generated one-third of the team’s postseason offence.
The Erie Trade and Tactical Fit
Kingston began rebuilding midseason. On Jan. 2, 2017, Erie acquired Foegele for forward Brett Neumann and a 2019 third-round pick.
“Adding Warren brings another veteran to our lineup who is a leader and a relentless worker,” Brown said. “He holds a combination of characteristics valued by the Erie Otters.”
Erie had elite scoring in Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat. Head coach Kris Knoblauch needed a forward to win defensive battles and tilt five-on-five possession.
“When I got traded to Erie, I knew what kind of talent they had here,” Foegele said. “My goal was just to fit in, do the dirty work, and do whatever the coaches needed to help us win.”
Foegele posted 16 goals and 16 assists in 33 games for Erie. Knoblauch leaned on him for defensive-zone starts, where Foegele registered a 69 per cent Corsi rating and drew penalties through hard pursuit.
The Wayne Gretzky 99 Award
Knoblauch paired Foegele with Anthony Cirelli for the 2017 playoffs, creating the league’s top shutdown tandem.
“He doesn’t give you an inch out there,” Cirelli said. “He’s always on the right side of the puck, whether it’s the O-zone or D-zone. He plays the game the right way.”
Brown saw the relentless pursuit: “His determination to succeed is pretty high. He works so damn hard that he ends up on the right side of the puck all the time.”
Foegele produced 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 22 playoff games. After his overtime winner against London, Erie defeated Mississauga in five games to claim the J. Ross Robertson Cup.
Foegele received the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP.
“There’s a lot of great names on that trophy,” Foegele said. “It’s an honour, but the most important thing was winning the championship with this group of guys.”
Assistant coach Wes Wolfe summed up the trade: “I’m positive that if we don’t get Foegs, we don’t win the OHL championship.”
The Memorial Cup and the Pro Step
Erie finished its season at the 2017 Memorial Cup in Windsor, Ont. Foegele recorded two goals and five assists in five games before Erie fell 4–3 to Windsor in the final.
The loss ended his junior career. In two OHL seasons split between Kingston and Erie, Foegele accumulated 111 points in 113 regular-season games and 36 points in 31 playoff contests.
Captain Dylan Strome credited the late additions: “Bringing in guys like Foegele and Cirelli changed everything for our group. They came in with so much maturity and work ethic. They showed up in the biggest moments of the playoffs.”
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Photos: Aaron Bell/OHL Images