Granted I don't see Foote play at all, but Foote's not exactly a defensive stud either right? Which is why you compared him to Phaneuf? Who in his early days was considered a two-way defense-man but more favorable on the offensive side. Sample size is small but he was pretty exposed on D in the World Jr's, although his offensive production this year is very impressive given it's in the WHL. Hasn't skating always been a knack on him as well?
He's a very good defender, not an absolute stud like his dad or anything. With his size and willingness to engage he could become a shutdown guy if he wanted but he has really good offensive instincts and skills you don't want to hold back. In junior you could be a good defender just by being larger than the other kids and able to push them around in your own zone. Foote can do that but he also has good gap control, strong on the boards and can easily skate it out. I believe he's similar sized to Dotchin, Dotchin was a good shutdown defender in junior because he was huge and could mail kids but lacked the other skills to be a legit top 4. Foote can do that and has all the other skills that will keep him in the top 4 and stay there while pushing being a top pair guy.
I compared him to Phaneuf because depending on what side they want them to favor is how good they'll be. Phaneuf in junior from what I recall was better defensively and a little worse offensively. Way more wreckless too while Foote is much more methodical. Phaneuf was put in a great situation his early couple of years which allowed his offense to really stand out but hurt his defensive side. Then later in his career he focused on the other and his production slipped, still being good enough on both sides to be a top 4 and top pair guy. Foote can be that too if they let his offensive blossom early, if they hinder it early he may not be able to get it back later and just becomes a more defensive oriented guy. He wasn't exposed in the WJC either, he had a partner who was weak he had to cover for a lot but was out there in a lot of important situations. The WJC clearly favors skilled players, which Foote has, but he still plays a typical CHL game which is a more physical based game so he won't really stand out in that tournament. His skating also isn't that bad, he's not a Dotchin back there, not Hedman either but closer to that than having bricks on his feet.