Comments on: Prospect Pulse: Michael Forney

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:35:00 +0000

I currently live in Thief River Falls and go the chance to watch Michael work out while my son was on the treadmill at the mini Ralph. Michael has gained alot of muscle mass which he needed. I really hope he gets a shot at playing at the highest level. I also go the opportunity to skate with him and Zane Gothberg (UND RECRUIT) this summer amd Michael’s puck handling skills are very quck. And he is very accurate. And for the record Gordy Ohie graduated from Warroad in 05, michael graduated in 06, the year we went to State. TRF did not beat warroad in 04 and 05. GO JETS!!!
Chanc Keefe chanckeefe96@yahoo.com

By: Gordon Campbell

Gordon Campbell — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:02:00 +0000

Further to Michael Forney, I may be biased but I think he is a real dark horse. Initially he was projected as a first rounder out of Thief River Falls MN. He led his team to the state tournament beating a Warroad MN team led by T.J. Oshie. Now with the St. Louis Blues. Unfortunately he suffered a shoulder injury in that tourney. The team should have won the state. Just my opinion. Then he was on the US under 18 team that was competing in Sweden and suffered a broken ankle in practice. He recovered and went to UND on a team with the likes of Johnathan Toews etc. Was buried on the depth chart. Also suffered another shoulder injury during a non-hitting open to the public practice by a TEAM-MATE who blind sided him during that practice. I will not divulge the name. So, this guy takes this all in stride and does 2 yrs at UND. So, he then decides to go Pro and is sent to Gwinnett Georgia to play with the Gladiators in the ECHL.
Another challenge for him. During the next two years he is named THE MOST IMPROVED first year and then MVP the next all injury free. He also got blindsided by his coach the first year. As a promo for TV he walked into the coach’s office expecting to talk. The film was rolling and he got checked into a wall/closet to provide footage for a commercial for the team. Welcome to hockey in the ECHL. Now he is in Wpg. Take a good look at him. I lived in Thief River during his years as a little guy learning the game. He epitomizes the Canadian ideal of a hockey player that is humble and has a love for the game like all the players trying to be a Winnipeg Jet. Michael Forney is the real deal and would represent the Jets well.
Gordon Campbell campb1188@gmail.com

By: Luke Miguez

Luke Miguez — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:27:00 +0000

Well there’s advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of having an overabundance of depth players is that they can’t all possibly play at once. The advantage however is that there won’t be any rushing prospects into the NHL should injuries arise. Cormier, Klingberg, Gregoire, etc. will all need AHL time to transition to a higher standard of play (the NHL) and with players such as McArdle, Jaffray, etc. around they aren’t going to end up thrown into the fire before management is confident that they’re ready to do so.

By: Kyle Kosior

Kyle Kosior — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Luke,

You make an excellent point. However, in the grand scheme of all things hockey, I would take that problem any day. Its not great if you are a player, but for management its wonderful. See which player wants it more.

Thanks for reading.

By: Luke Miguez

Luke Miguez — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:30:00 +0000

One problem the Jets’ organization may end up having is that there’s a major “traffic jam” for spots in St. John’s. A whole lot of players who aren’t ready for the NHL, but who are definitely capable of stepping up from the ECHL. Forney comes across as a player who should have a spot in St. John’s, but it’ll almost certainly be in the bottom six or a healthy scratch behind any possible grouping of Jason King, Ben Maxwell, Patrice Cormier, Jason Jaffray, Carl Klingberg, Jason Gregoire, Kenndal McArdle and Shawn Weller at left wing.