Foudy, 22, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round, 18th overall, at the 2018 NHL Draft. He has collected five assists with six penalty minutes, 44 shots on goal and an "even" plus/minus rating, while averaging 12:41 of ice time in 27 career games with Columbus since making his NHL debut in 2019-20. He has added 1-1-2 in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances, notching his first career goal in Game 5 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifying Series against the Toronto Maple Leafs (Frederik Andersen) on August 9.
"Liam got off to a solid start last season in Cleveland and was playing well before he was injured and missed the final three months of the season," said Kekalainen. "He is an elite skater. He's worked very hard to solidify the other areas of his game and we believe Liam has a very bright future with our club."
A native of Scarborough, Ontario, Foudy skated in one outing with Columbus in 2021-22, suiting up in the club's game on January 15 at Florida. In 2020-21, he notched with 0-4-4 and 43 shots in 24 appearances. He collected 0-1-1 and an "even" plus/minus rating in two outings in his first NHL campaign in 2019-20, including making his NHL debut on February 10 vs. Tampa Bay.
The 6-2, 187-pound forward has added 10-25-35, six penalty minutes, 103 shots and is +11 in 41 career AHL contests with the Cleveland Monsters. He tallied 7-12-19 with six penalty minutes, 78 shots and was +4 in 29 games with Cleveland before missing the final 39 contests of the 2021-22 campaign with an upper body injury.
Foudy totaled 97-94-191 and 97 penalty minutes in 230 career games with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League from 2016-20. He was named the team's MVP in his final campaign in 2019-20 after registering 28-40-68 in 45 contests. He has represented Canada at several international tournaments, skating in the 2021 IIHF World Championships (gold medal), 2020 IIHF World Junior Championships (gold medal), 2018 IIHF U18 World Championships and 2017 U17 World Hockey Challenge.
