Mike Forbes was a playmaking defenceman who played 50 games for the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers. Although his NHL tenure was brief, he enjoyed a productive nine-year career in the minors.
Forbes played two years of junior with the OHA's Kingston Canadians. He spent the 1976-77 season on the powerful St. Catharines Fincups and scored 53 points. That summer he was the Boston Bruins' 3rd choice, 52nd overall at the 1977 Amateur Draft.
Forbes split the 1977-78 season between Boston and the Rochester Americans of the AHL. His ice time in the NHL was limited since the Bruins had veterans such as Brad Park, Mike Milbury, Rick Smith, Dennis O'Brien, Doug Halward, and Gary Doak to toil on the blueline. The Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 Expansion Draft claimed the young rearguard. Once again, he lost out in a numbers game since the young club ended up focusing on the development of Paul Coffey, Risto Siltanen, and Kevin Lowe while utilizing veterans Al Hamilton, Pat Price, and Lee Fogolin.
During the early '80s, Forbes excelled in the CHL with the Houston Apollos, Wichita Wind and Montana Magic. In 1982-83 he scored 61 points for Wichita and was named to the league's second all-star team. He didn't play in 1984-85 but returned the following season and spent a little over a season with the IHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks before retiring in 1987.
