Forrest was up to his usual tricks over the Silver Stick, being an aggressive defender who loves jumping up with the play. All tournament long, Forrest was exploding up ice, relying on his shifty lateral skating to dodge everything in his path, and dominate in transition. Whether it was accelerating with a few explosive strides or deceiving a defender with a change of direction, Alex had all the mobility to push play with control. I've raved about this part of Forrest's game plenty this season, but seeing how much impact he can have in transition with his combination of sheer abilities and confidence to use them is still remarkable. Going in the other direction, Forrest aggressively applied pressure in the neutral zone, shut down rushes, and forced plenty of turnovers by stepping up into space to take away the oncoming attackers' options. While I've noted his offensive impact in the past, I certainly felt Alex was able to create a higher volume of chances over the Silver, crossing the blueline with control and then scanning for his open forwards in scoring positions and moving pucks to them. All in all, it was another impressive viewing sample of the Oakville defender, once again leaving no doubt in my mind why he is my #1 ranked defender.

In my first views of the Oakville Rangers in the winter, Forrest was the one player who immediately jumped off the page, mainly because of his mobility and eagerness to get up ice. That assessment held true over the Draft Day Showcase, as the consistent theme was Forrest's non-stop activations. At every opportunity he could, Forrest pushed play forward, carried the puck up ice, and was a dominating force in transition. His first instinct after receiving a pass or breaking up a play was to explode forward, catching his opponents off guard, and zoom by them for clean, controlled zone exits and entries. His footwork and hands combination were the value creators in these moments, as no matter what pressure he was under, Forrest had every tool at his disposal to shift laterally and maneuver the puck to dodge and evade any forechecker in his path. Once crossing the offensive blueline, Alex showed a willingness to try to attack the middle of the ice and use his puck skills to deke his way in tight for dangerous chances. The red helmet may have influenced it, but Forrest's performance reminded me of how Luca Blonda (Sudbury 2024 1st rounder) fared at this event a year ago, and that's always a promising sign at this stage of my evaluation process.

Forrest entered the year as one of the top defenders in the province, and someone I full well knew would be in the conversation of a first-round consideration on my initial top 20. Simply put, Forrest was fantastic and the defender I was most impressed with across the event. He was the backbone of so much of the Oakville Rangers' success, impacting every area of the game, and just overall a treat to watch. His combination of mobility, sheer confidence and aggressive push-forward mindset was the focal point of so much of his success. Forrest wanted to play with the puck on his stick, push pucks forward, attack for scoring chances, and he had all the tools to back up this desire to play a high-octane offensive game. The lateral mobility was the key element behind this all, giving him all of the maneuverability required to dodge oncoming pressure, skirt checks, and access anywhere he wanted on the ice. Time and time again, Forrest was carrying the puck through the neutral zone, side-stepping opponents to win a controlled entry and sparking a quality scoring chance off these rush sequences. While the abundance of offensive creation was impressive, Forrest did a stellar job at breaking up plays, jumping pucks in the neutral zone, and adding a considerable amount of defensive impact to make for a well-rounded performance. Evidently, it was an excellent opener to the season for Forrest and a performance that solidified him as rightfully in the conversation as the #1 defender in the '09 Ontario crop.

Forrest was once again the star of this Oakville Rangers team. His explosive skating, lateral mobility, and especially his quickness through his crossovers all shined. He could evade any forechecker trying to close him down, accelerate by defenders, and dominate with the puck, given all his mobility. Forrest was his uber-confident self, constantly looking to push play forward, carry the puck through the neutral zone and attack forward. He had so many sequences of sparking quality chances with his aggressive attack mindset to drive deep into the offensive zone and then hit teammates in the slot area. I never thought Forrest was over-extending himself, was rarely closed down, and everything just seemed like he knew when to use his tools to takeover.