Derek Forbort

Derek Forbort
Forbort with the Boston Bruins in 2023
Born	(1992-03-04) March 4, 1992 (age 32) Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Boston Bruins Los Angeles Kings Calgary Flames Winnipeg Jets
NHL draft	15th overall, 2010 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	2013–present

Derek Forbort (born March 4, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. He was originally selected by the Kings, 15th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Forbort played his junior season of high school hockey for Duluth East High School in 2008–09, finishing with 28 points in 21 games, ^[1] and was named a regional All-Star. ^[2] He completed the season by playing nine games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) in the United States Hockey League (USHL). He played his first full season with the USNTDP in 2009–10, scoring 4 goals and 14 points in 26 USHL league games, and 25 points overall in 56 games with the development team.

He then began his freshman season for the University of North Dakota for the 2010–11 season. He played with the American team at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships, recording two assists and a +9 rating, en route to winning a gold medal. ^[3] Forbort had committed to play for the University of North Dakota men's ice hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2010. ^[2]

Professional

Forbort was highly regarded by scouts and was projected to become a two-way defenseman in the National Hockey League (NHL). ^[1] The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Forbort as the ninth best North American skater for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, ^[4] an improvement on his midterm ranking of 11th. ^[5] International Scouting Services named him tenth overall. ^[6] Expected to be a first round selection, ^[7] Forbort was taken 15th overall by the Los Angeles Kings.

On April 5, 2013, Forbort signed a three-year entry level contract with the Los Angeles Kings. ^[8]

Forbort with the Manchester Monarchs in 2013

In the 2014–15 season, on February 11, 2015, the Kings recalled Forbort from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was later returned to the Monarchs without playing a game for the Kings. ^[9] He eventually made his NHL debut the following season on October 16, 2015, against the Minnesota Wild ^[10] and recorded his first NHL goal in a 5–0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on December 28. ^[11]

In the 2016–17 season, his second with the Kings, Forbort made the opening roster. He recorded 18 points in 82 games during the season.

On October 19, 2017, Forbort signed a two-year contract extension with the Kings. ^[12]

In the 2019–20 season, Forbort began his eighth season within the Kings organization on the injured reserve. After returning from a conditioning assignment with the Ontario Reign, he featured in just 14 games for 1 assist. On February 24, 2020, Forbort was dealt by the Kings at the NHL trade deadline to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2021 conditional fourth-round pick. ^[13]

As a free agent, Forbort signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets on October 11, 2020. ^[14] In the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Forbort appeared in every game for the Jets on the blueline, contributing with 2 goals and 12 points in 56 regular season games.

On July 28, 2021, Forbort left at the conclusion of his contract with the Jets to sign a three-year, $9 million contract with the Boston Bruins as a free agent. ^[15] He scored his first goal as a Bruin on October 24, 2021, against the San Jose Sharks.

During the 2022–23 season, Forbort, after scoring 5 goals for the first time in his career, suffered an injury in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on March 16, 2023, but returned for the playoffs.

In the 2023–24 season, Forbort battled many injuries. On December 7, 2023, Forbort was placed on LTIR. ^[16] He returned on January 20, 2024, against the Montreal Canadiens. However, Forbort was injured in a March 2 contest against the New York Islanders, and a few days later, was once again placed on LTIR. The injury would require surgery, and Forbort was expected to miss the rest of the season. ^[17] However, during the Bruins first round Stanley Cup playoffs matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Forbort started practicing regularly with the team, progressing and recovering much quicker than was expected. ^[18] Although he would not play during the series against the Leafs, the Bruins would defeat the Leafs in seven games, and Forbort would make his return in Game 1 of the following round, against the Florida Panthers.

International play

Forbort played for the US national team at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Buffalo, New York, winning a bronze medal. ^[19]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	East High School	HS-MN			2	12	14			—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	East High School	HS-MN		22	4	14	18	28		3	2	4	6	4
2008–09	U.S. NTDP U17	USDP		9	1	5	6	10		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	U.S. NTDP U18	NAHL		2	0	1	1	6		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	U.S. NTDP Juniors	USHL		26	4	10	14	26		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	U.S. NTDP U18	USDP		65	5	23	28	46		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	University of North Dakota	WCHA		38	0	15	15	26		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	University of North Dakota	WCHA		35	2	11	13	28		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	University of North Dakota	WCHA		41	4	12	16	26		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		6	0	1	1	0		4	0	0	0	4
2013–14	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		74	1	16	17	42		3	0	0	0	0
2014–15	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		67	4	11	15	52		19	0	6	6	12
2015–16	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		14	1	1	2	17		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Ontario Reign	AHL		40	2	8	10	40		13	0	2	2	0
2016–17	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		82	2	16	18	54		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		78	1	17	18	49		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		81	2	12	14	52		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Ontario Reign	AHL		5	1	0	1	5		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		13	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Calgary Flames	NHL		7	0	0	0	0		10	1	1	2	2
2020–21	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		56	2	10	12	35		8	1	0	1	0
2021–22	Boston Bruins	NHL		76	4	10	14	48		7	1	0	1	12
2022–23	Boston Bruins	NHL		54	5	7	12	23		7	0	1	1	21
2023–24	Boston Bruins	NHL		35	0	4	4	17
NHL totals				496	17	78	95	299		32	3	2	5	35

Medal record
Representing USA
Ice hockey
World Junior Championshipss
	2011 USA
IIHF World U18 Championships
	2010 Belarus

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010	United States	U18			7	0	2	2	6
2011	United States	WJC			6	0	0	0	0
2012	United States	WJC	7th		3	0	2	2	0
Junior totals					16	0	4	4	6

Awards and honors

Award	Year
College
WCHA All-Tournament Team	2012	[20]
AHL
Calder Cup (Manchester Monarchs)	2015	[21]

References

1. Adams, Alan (June 2010). "Top prospects gun for no. 1". The Hockey News: 25. ISSN   0018-3016.
2. Pates, Kevin (2010-05-16). "Forbort heading home, with eye on NHL draft". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
3. "Derek Forbort draft card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
4. "Final Rankings Domestic Skaters" (PDF). NHL Central Scouting. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
5. "Derek Forbort scouting report". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
6. "2010 ISS Top 30". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
7. "Forbort has NHL in his sights". FOX 21 Duluth. 2010-05-23. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
8. "Kings Sign Forbort" . Retrieved 2013-04-05.
9. "Kings recall defenseman Forbort from AHL". National Hockey League. 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
10. Kinkopf, Alan (October 16, 2015). "PREVIEW: Kings look to avoid history with win against Wild" . Retrieved December 13, 2018. Derek Forbort will make his NHL debut tonight, skating with Christian Ehrhoff on the Kings' third D-pairing.
11. Kinkopf, Alan (December 29, 2015). "Toffoli's hat-trick fuels Kings' 5-0 victory". NHL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
12. "LA Kings Sign Defensemen Derek Forbort to Two-Year Contract Extension". NHL.com. October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
13. "Flames acquire pair of defencemen". Calgary Flames. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
14. "Jets sign Derek Forbort to a one-year contract". Winnipeg Jets. October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
15. "Bruins announce free agent signings and transactions". Boston Bruins. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
16. "Bruins Place Derek Forbort on LTIR; Recall Mason Lohrei | Boston Bruins". www.nhl.com. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
17. Anderson, Ty (March 9, 2024). "Bruins provide update on defenseman Derek Forbort". 98.5 The Sports Hub. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
18. Ryan, Conor. "After March surgery, Derek Forbort nearing return with Bruins". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
19. "Player Statistics by Team" (PDF). IIHF . Archived (PDF) from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
20. "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Archived from the original on 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
21. "Manchester defeats Utica to win Calder Cup". National Hockey League. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-19.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Brayden Schenn	Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick 2010	Succeeded by Tanner Pearson