Former professional hockey player Alex Foster grew up in a family with a hockey pedigree.  His father, Dwight, played ten seasons in the NHL, while his uncle, Wes Jarvis, spent 12 seasons split between the NHL and American Hockey League. As a result, Alex was always surrounded by hockey, and he too decided he wanted to play just like his father. 

“I think naturally I wanted to play because my Dad played,” said Foster.  “But there was no real pressure to play.  My father finished his career and just wanted to be a Dad.  He didn’t care if I played or not.”

Although Alex followed in his Father’s footsteps in deciding to pursue a career in hockey, he took his own route to reach the professional ranks.  While Dwight played junior for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHA (now the OHL) before turning pro, Alex played his junior hockey in the United States for the Sioux Falls Stampede and the Danville Wings of the USHL.  

“I was a bit of a late bloomer and playing junior hockey in the States made more sense for me.  It gave me more time to develop.  I did not feel like I was missing out on anything because it was still very good hockey compared to the OHL.”

Foster’s path provided more time to develop physically and mentally which ultimately allowed him to eventually play college hockey.  He attended Bowling Green State University, majoring in Business Finance, while playing a key role for the Falcons. He was a huge fan of the college hockey atmosphere.

“I loved the dynamics of being a student athlete.  Being able to play hockey while earning my degree was such a cool experience.  It’s something I’ll never forget.”

He made the decision to leave Bowling Green following his second season with the team when the opportunity to play professional hockey arose. Although he went undrafted to the NHL, the thought of fulfilling his dream of one day playing in the NHL was too much to pass up.  Foster signed his first professional hockey contract with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and immediately reported to the Club for the remainder of the 2005-06 season.  

“I left school hoping and thinking I was going to play in the NHL which was a strong possibility based on what management was telling me.  It looked promising at the time. Looking back, I think playing college hockey longer would have given me even more time to physically mature and develop. It could have gone a long way and potentially even changed the trajectory of my career.”

Alex began his first full season with the Toronto Marlies in 2006-07 and even collected a point in the first game of the season while playing limited minutes. To his surprise, following the game he was assigned to the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL. 

“I remember thinking I did well.  I collected a point with the limited minutes I was given.  It was shocking and disappointing to hear the news because I had left school early for this.  At the time, it felt like my career was moving backwards and it was upsetting.”

Foster decided to turn his emotion into motivation as he averaged just over a point per game during his brief nine-game stint in the ECHL before being recalled to the Marlies.  By the end of the year, he was able to carve out a regular role with the Marlies and his momentum carried over into the following year.  In 2007-08, Foster put together a career year that led to a three game call up with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  His NHL dream had finally come true.  His hard work and dedication had been rewarded which allowed him to overcome the emotional challenges he faced early in his career. 

Foster would go on to play three more seasons with the Marlies and was named Captain in his final season with the team, helping to mentor the next wave of players for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Marlies were a great fit and he enjoyed playing for the organization, especially given his family ties to the area.

“Both of my parents were from Toronto, and so were a lot of my family. I didn’t see them much having grown up in Michigan but when I was in Toronto, I was able to be around them more. I loved it there, I was able to grow up and establish myself as a player.”

After his sixth season with the Marlies, Foster decided to look for a new challenge and found it overseas. The combination of a strong financial offer and the opportunity to have fun and experience Europe was exciting. 

“I figured at that point in my career I probably wasn’t going to be playing in the NHL again, which was fine, but I wanted to be able to have as much fun as I could and travel at the same time.”

Alex went on to play six seasons in Europe across four different countries before returning to North America for one more season in the ECHL before retiring.

One opportunity that Foster felt he missed out on while playing in the AHL was to serve as his team’s Player Representative for the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA), the collective bargaining representative for players in the AHL and ECHL. Being able to be involved with the PHPA and have input in what was going on with the League had always interested him.

However, as his on-ice career began to wind down, Foster did reach out to the PHPA as he was interested in learning more about the PHPA’s renown Career Enhancement Program and the options available to him. He inquired about the possibility of becoming a firefighter through the PHPA’s partnership with FESTI (Fire and Emergency Training Institute). Although he ultimately did not choose to pursue firefighting, he was grateful for the career resources and information that was available. 

When Foster retired in 2018, his desire was to work in real-estate. He ended up finding a job with United Wholesale Mortgage working in sales and building relationships with mortgage brokers. He naturally excelled in his new position and quickly earned a promotion, overcoming the challenges of a new career path.  

After a year and a half at UWM, he decided to take on a new challenge once again. With his newly attained knowledge, Foster and a friend from UWM took a risk and decided to open their own Mortgage Company called Mortgage City in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“If we crashed and burned at least I’ve proved to myself that I could get a job, work, and make a living. I knew I could always do that so the opportunity to be my own boss was worth the risk. It was scary because it was during the pandemic, but rates were low, and it allowed us to jump in and do business.”

Two years later, Mortgage City is growing and running strong and can be a beneficial service for anyone looking to purchase a home. They are a licenced mortgage lender based in Detroit, Michigan, however they are also licensed in other States such as Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas, California, and Colorado.

“I never knew what any of the numbers meant.  You pay thousands of dollars here and there when you’re buying a house and that’s it. It’s beneficial to know what numbers and dollar amounts can be altered, negotiated, or will be the same no matter what. Even if you don’t want to learn about it, just know that with Mortgage City, we are trustworthy people who are on your side. When I bought a house, I never had this kind of help.  It’s the biggest purchase of people’s lives and most of the time they don’t know all the details.”

Foster challenged himself throughout his entire hockey career and now he continues to challenge himself in his post hockey career while starting and building Mortgage City.  The hard work and dedication that he put forth in overcoming challenges throughout his entire hockey career has translated into success in his new role.  He is excited to continue to build his mortgage company and is especially looking forward to helping those in the hockey community, as he did throughout his on-ice career.