Boston College Men’s Hockey Head Coach Prospects: J.D. Forrest

As we look at potential interviewees for the Boston College men’s hockey head coaching job, it seems fair to expect that most Boston College alumni with coaching experience will at least be considering for an interview. J.D. Forrest, who played at BC in the early 2000s and was an alternate captain in 2002-03 and 2003-04, is one such candidate.

After graduating from BC, Forrest spent 2 season in Finland, came back to the US for a season in the ECHL & AHL, and then returned to Europe. He played professionally across a variety of European leagues before retiring from play in 2013-14.

Forrest worked for USA Hockey upon his return to the US, and then took an assistant coaching job with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) in 2016. In 2020, he became the head coach of the AHL Penguins.

In his first season as head coach, the Penguins went 13-13, a fairly similar outcome to the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, where they also sat around .500. This season, the team is hovering around that same mark at 32-29.

Forrest hasn’t had the kind of coaching success so far that would seemingly make him a top contender for the job. However, his connections to USA Hockey/the USNTDP are a plus for recruiting, and he hasn’t really had the time to turn the Penguins around, considering he has been head coach for just 2 years, both of which have occurred during the COVID pandemic.