J. D. Forrest
| J. D. Forrest | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Forrest with Oulun Kärpät in 2009 | |||
| Born |
April 15, 1981 Auburn, New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
SaiPa Lappeenranta Ässät Pori Kärpät Oulu Jokerit Helsinki Kloten Flyers Malmö Redhawks Augsburger Panther | ||
| NHL draft |
181st overall, 2000 Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| Playing career | 2004–2014 | ||
Justin David "J.D." Forrest (born April 15, 1981) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former professional defenseman.
Playing career
[edit]Forrest spent four seasons playing for Boston College, where he was part of the team that won the NCAA Championship in 2001 and earned Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors. In 2003, he was named a Second-Team All-American by the ACHA and served as an alternate captain during his final two seasons before graduating in 2004. Following college, he launched a long professional hockey career that included time in North America and Europe, playing in Finland's Liiga, Switzerland's National League A, and the American Hockey League. He concluded his playing career in 2014 after spending two seasons with the Augsburger Panther in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga.[1]
Coaching career
[edit]After retiring from professional hockey, Forrest began his coaching career as an assistant with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, where he helped lead the team to a gold medal at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. He then spent a season coaching the affiliate team of EC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. On August 2, 2016, the Pittsburgh Penguins appointed him as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[2]
He was promoted to the position of head coach on September 11, 2020.[3]
On April 28, 2024, the Penguins announced that they would not be extending the contract of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach J.D. Forrest.[4] He subsequently joined the Syracuse Crunch as an assistant coach.[5]
Awards and honors
[edit]| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 2000–01 |
| All-Hockey East Second Team | 2002–03 |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 2002–03 |
Career statistics
[edit]Regular season and playoffs
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | US NTDP U18 | NAHL | 41 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | US NTDP Juniors | USHL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | US NTDP U18 | NAHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | US NTDP Juniors | USHL | 48 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | US NTDP U18 | NAHL | 49 | 6 | 28 | 34 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1999–2000 | US NTDP Juniors | USHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Boston College | HE | 38 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Boston College | HE | 35 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Boston College | HE | 34 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Boston College | HE | 37 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | SaiPa | SM-liiga | 53 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Ässät | SM-liiga | 43 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 69 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 2007–08 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 19 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Elmira Jackals | ECHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Kärpät | SM-liiga | 52 | 5 | 28 | 33 | 60 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2009–10 | Kärpät | SM-liiga | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Kloten Flyers | NLA | 30 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | Kärpät | SM-liiga | 41 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Malmö Redhawks | Allsv | 50 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Augsburger Panther | DEL | 32 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Augsburger Panther | DEL | 51 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SM-liiga totals | 206 | 23 | 70 | 93 | 215 | 36 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 28 | ||||
International
[edit]| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | United States | WJC18 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2001 | United States | WJC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Elite Prospects - J.D. Forrest". Elite Prospects. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Chris Taylor, J.D. Forrest Named WBS Penguins Assistant Coaches". The Official Web Site - Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Forrest Named Head Coach, Karmanos named GM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton". WBS Penguins. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ "Penguins Announce Changes with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Coaching Staff | Pittsburgh Penguins". www.nhl.com. April 28, 2024.
- ^ "J.D. Forrest Named Syracuse Crunch Assistant Coach". Syracuse Crunch. June 26, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database