Michael D. Forbes (born September 20, 1957) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

, manager and commissioner. Forbes was selected in the third round of the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, 52nd overall. He played 50 games in the NHL between 1977 and 1982 with the Bruins and

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, was spent in different minor leagues.

Playing career

Forbes spent his junior career with the

Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. History The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontario ...

and

St. Catharines Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...

of the OMJHL, and won a silver medal with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the 1977 World Junior Championships. Following his draft, Forbes split the 1977–78 season between Boston and their AHL-affiliate, the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

. Forbes played in Rochester for the 1978–79 season, and was claimed by the

in the

1979 NHL Expansion Draft The 1979 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 13, 1979. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the National Hockey League's new teams for the 1979–80 season: the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. These ...

. Forbes would play in only 18 games for Edmonton over the rest of his career, but was productive in the CHL, first with the

Houston Apollos The Houston Apollos were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Houston, Texas. They played in the Central Hockey League from 1965 to 1969, and then from 1979 to 1981. From 1965 to 1969, they were a farm team of the NHL's Montreal Canadie ...

and later with the

Wichita Wind The Wichita Wind were a minor league ice hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas from 1980 to 1983. They were the feeder team of the Edmonton Oilers (1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons) and the New Jersey Devils (1982–83). The Wind played in the Centr ...

and

Montana Magic The Montana Magic were a minor professional ice hockey team that played in Billings, Montana, as a member of the defunct Central Hockey League (CHL) in the 1983–84 season. They filled the void left by the departure of the major junior Billings ...

, highlighted by being named to the 1983 CHL All-Star Team. Forbes spent parts of two seasons with the

Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...

of the IHL at the tail end of his career, (including on the 1986

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

team), before retiring in 1987.

Post-retirement

Forbes was assistant general manager and co owner of the Muskegon Lumberjacks and remained with the

Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...

as assistant general manager and co owner until 1992, and was named GM of the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

on May 25, 1993, a position he held for the 1993–94 season. In 1994 Forbes was made commissioner of the

Colonial Hockey League Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, a position he held until 1997. He currently resides in Grand Haven, MI and is the Head Coach of the ACHA 2011 National Champion Division II hockey team at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

. Forbes was also named the 2011 ACHA D2 Coach of the Year, as well as being appointed to the Coaching staff of the 2012 ACHA D2 Select Team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

External links

*
Mike Forbes biography
at Hockey Draft Central {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Mike 1957 births Living people Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Edmonton Oilers players Hamilton Fincups players Houston Apollos players Kingston Canadians players Montana Magic players Muskegon Mohawks players Rochester Americans players Ice hockey people from Brampton Wichita Wind players