By: Dave McCarthy

For many of the players that have attended St. Michael’s College School and come through the St. Michael’s Buzzers Junior A program, the school and the team have forged special places in their hearts. Few people though can claim as strong an attachment to the St. Michael’s community as Tyler Forbes.

It is hard to argue Forbes’ strong connection to the Buzzers having skated in 163 games – just three shy of Fred Cassiani’s record of 166 - over the past four seasons. But Forbes’ connection to St. Michael’s runs far deeper than that.

Baptized at St. Michael’s at the age of one, Forbes would go on to attend class at the school and play on numerous school teams before making the jump to the Buzzers as a sixteen year old. Tyler’s father Paul Forbes teaches at St. Michael’s and has served as the head coach of the St. Michael’s Kerry Blues football team since 1984. It’s safe to say that for the first twenty years of Tyler Forbes’ life, St. Michael’s College School and the Buzzers have been a big part of it.

“There’s no better to play than St. Mike’s, whether it is the grade seven team that I played for or my four years with the Buzzers,” said Forbes. “Just the tradition, the coaching staffs, the guys I’ve played with, they were all great hockey players but most of all, they were all great people.”

Come this fall, Forbes will embark on a new chapter having committed to attend Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan and play for the D1 Panthers.
“It’ll definitely be different not walking into the arena at St. Mike’s in August or September,” said Forbes.

Nevertheless though, Forbes is excited to begin the next phase of his life at Davenport University and to continue his hockey career in the NCAA, a goal that he worked hard to achieve during his four seasons with the Buzzers. Having embraced the small and intimate atmosphere at St. Michael’s, Forbes was attracted to Davenport University in large part due to its atypically small class sizes for a university.

“I wanted to go somewhere small and when I went down for a visit, the first thing that came to mind was almost like a St. Mike’s type atmosphere,” explained Forbes. “The class sizes are between twenty and thirty people, you get to have a one on one relationship with the professors unlike feeling like you’re just a number. The teaching assistants seemed great, the coaching staff was great and really friendly and the town is great. I think Grand Rapids is one of the nicest places in Michigan.”

The Toronto, Ontario native plans to major in either marketing or sports management.

While there will undoubtedly be a period of adjustment in the transition from St. Michael’s to Davenport University, Forbes will have a familiar face with him in Buzzer teammate Joe D’Elia, who also committed to attending the university.

“Joe is a really hard worker when he came to the rink every day last year and he’s a really great guy off the ice,” said Forbes. “I’m really excited to have him as my roommate and teammate at Davenport for the next four years.”

Looking back on a four year career with the Buzzers that saw him tally thirty one goals and thirty nine assists, Forbes admitted the memories he gathered during that time will be with him forever.

“Coming to the rink everyday and walking into the Buzzers’ locker room, putting on the jersey and doing the cheer after wins, St. Mike’s will always be a special place for me,” said Forbes.

Asked for his all time greatest memory in his time spent with the Buzzers, Forbes responded with a specific instance that has seemed to become the popular answer to that question, especially for the members of the 2006-2007 team.

“My best Buzzer memory was when Rich Ryan scored the triple overtime goal when we came back from three games to nothing to beat the Markham Waxers in 2007,” said Forbes. “That was special.”

Indeed it was. And so too was Forbes’ time with the Buzzers. Congratulations Tyler!