| Birth Date: | April 15, 1981 |
| Birth Place: | Auburn, New York, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 9 |
| Weight Lb: | 180 |
| Position: | Defense |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Played For: | SaiPa Lappeenranta Ässät Pori Kärpät Oulu Jokerit Helsinki Kloten Flyers Malmö Redhawks Augsburger Panther |
| Draft: | 181st overall |
| Draft Year: | 2000 |
| Draft Team: | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Career Start: | 2004 |
| Career End: | 2014 |
Justin David "J.D." Forrest (born April 15, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and former head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League.
Forrest played four years with Boston College winning the NCAA Championship in 2001 whilst earning Hockey East All-Rookie honors. He was an ACHA Second-Team All-American in 2003 before graduating in 2004, serving as an alternate captain in both years. He then embarked on a lengthy professional career in Europe and North America with stints in Finland's Liiga, Switzerland's National League A as well as the American Hockey League. He retired in 2014 following two seasons with the Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany.[1]
Following his retirement, Forrest was an assistant coach with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program winning Gold at the Under-18 IIHF World Championships in 2015. He then coached the farm club of EC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria for one season, before he was named by the Pittsburgh Penguins on August 2, 2016 as an assistant coach for their affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.[2]
He earned a promotion to head coach on September 11, 2020.[3]
The Penguins announced on April 28th, 2024 that they "will not renew the contracts of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach J.D. Forrest. https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/penguins-announce-changes-with-wilkes-barre-scranton-coaching-staff?utm_source=social&utm_medium=x
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 2000–01 |
| All-Hockey East Second Team | 2002–03 |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 2002–03 |
| Team | League | GP | 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 | ||||
| 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 | |||