Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part series chronicling a journey from pond hockey in Auburn to the professional ranks of the National Hockey League.

A 19-year-old boy cruises around town. J.D. Forrest - at the time a recent high school graduate - was enjoying a summer Sunday with some friends. It's a typical June day in Auburn. The 25th to be exact.

After about four hours Forrest returned home to find a rather atypical phone message: The Carolina Hurricanes called. Please call them back. Atypical, yes. But also highly anticipated.

Forrest had spent the afternoon trying to keep his mind off what was taking place more than 2,000 miles away in the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. Executives, general managers and coaches were gathered at the home of the NHL's Flames for the 2000 entry draft. In the sixth round, with the 181st overall selection, the Hurricanes opted for Forrest, a 5-foot-10 defenseman with three years of international play under his belt.

“I happened to get lucky,” a modest Forrest said. “And a little hard work paid off.

“It just felt good that someone noticed that I had ability and saw it could be developed into a pro hockey player.”

With a sigh of relief, Forrest picked up the phone and dialed his future.

“The first thing (head scout Sheldon Ferguson) said to me was, ‘Congratulations, we're glad we got you at this point in the draft. Let me ask you a question. How tall are you really?'” Forrest recalled.

“I'm 6-2,” the diminutive defender quickly quipped. “He knew that was a lie, too.”

It was no secret that the 5-10 printed in the media guide was generous - “I'm 5-8, 5-9 on a good day,” Forrest joked - but he wasn't going let that stop him. Sure, Forrest didn't exactly have the frame of Anaheim's all-star blue-liner Chris Pronger. Even with his skates on, Forrest would find himself staring up at the 6-6, 215-pound tower. Those daunting numbers kept Forrest questioning his draft-day fate.

“I always kind of thought I should (get drafted), but I didn't know because of my size,” Forrest said. “Everyone was always knocking my height.”

Knock no more.

Forrest overcame his size disadvantage by insisting on playing smart. He knew he'd have to develop that trait even more if he hoped to one day suit up among the elite.

“A lot of people think you get drafted, and that's it,” Forrest said. “Really, now you have an opportunity to take the next step.”

Forrest's next step wasn't going to be the NHL. He knew he still had work to do first. That meant college - Boston College.

Most players coming out of the National Team Development Program go one of two ways: major junior leagues to prep for the NHL, or the NCAA - to get an education and prep for the NHL.

Forrest's decision to become an Eagle was an easy one. He became a college hockey fan during his latter years with the NTDP, and in particular he followed Boston College because several Eagles had New York ties, among them current NHL star and Rochester native Brian Gionta, a 5-foot-7 forward who was a senior for the Eagles during Forrest's BC debut. As if he needed more cajoling, the Boston College recruiters informed him that if he joined the Eagles he would see immediate playing time. They delivered, and so did Forrest.

Appearing in 38 of the team's 43 games as a freshman - he missed a couple games with a sore shoulder and missed a few more while playing for Team USA in Russia - Forrest scored six times and added 17 assists - none more important than the final one of his rookie season. With a 1-0 lead over the University of North Dakota in the 2001 national championship game, Forrest had the helper on Mike Lephart's second-period goal in a game the Eagles went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

“We just had a great team,” Forrest said of the 33-8-2 Eagles. “We started clicking at the right time, and I don't think anyone was going to knock us off. It was nice to be a part of that team and play a fairly large role as a freshman.”

In the one-and-done world of college athletics (See: Greene, Donte) Forrest wasn't ready to give up his collegiate life just yet - not that he didn't want to take a dip in the pro pool.

“You want to make the jump, but I didn't think I was ready,” said Forrest, who watched 11 players from that championship team depart (eight to graduation, three to NHL contracts). “I was probably right.”

He remained at Boston College for his final three years getting as much game experience as possible.

He increased his point total to 27 as a sophomore and 31 as a junior before a senior campaign of 17 points. What outweighs the numbers, though, is how Forrest grew - physically and mentally.

His time in the weight room under the guidance of a team of strength coaches paid off as Forrest bulked up by about 10 pounds (listed at 175 in college, he's now listed at 185). He also attributes most of his ice smarts to his time at BC. Not to mention he just flat-out enjoyed the college lifestyle.

“I can't imagine anything being better than the time I had at school,” Forrest said. “I wouldn't have changed anything.”

The only thing Forrest might have wanted to change, he couldn't. After he graduated in 2004, the NHL was headed into a tumultuous offseason that resulted in a lockout and the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season, which would have been Forrest's first.

No NHL didn't mean no hockey, though. After discussions with his agent, Forrest opted to play in Finland's top league, the SM Liiga for SaiPa Lappeenranta.

“I was a little nervous,” Forrest recalled. “Over there when those teams bring an imported player - they call them imports - there's quite a bit of pressure on the imports to perform. If they don't, they'll just send you back. I knew that was a possibility.”

The instant he hit the ice, his worries vanished. “I just started playing; it's just hockey,” he said.

Hockey was the easy part. Despite having previously made half a dozen stops through Finland for various tournaments, there's no doubt Forrest was a foreigner.

His first year the team was made up solely of Finnish players, save two Canadians and one player from the Czech Republic who had spent some time in the United States and had a grasp on the English language. That helps, but it's still no easy task to sit in a locker room, unable to understand 90 percent of your teammates.

The worst part?

“Trying to figure out what the heck kind of food you're getting,” said Forrest, who added that the seven-hour time difference took some getting used too as well. “The language there is so much different. It's the little things like that, easy things like street signs or directions.”

But it wasn't all hardships. The team provided a home, a car and a cell phone, and the assistant coaches helped him get a feel for the Finnish way. Plus, there's that little matter of a paycheck - a “neat feeling” to get paid to play.

“It's good hockey and you can make a living - a good living - doing it,” Forrest said. “It's not like you're riding the bus and not getting treated well and getting paid peanuts. It's nothing like that.”

In fact, Forrest said they have pretty much everything you would expect for pro athletes.

And in Finland, the SM Liiga is what the NFL is to the United States.

“It's what they love,” Forrest said of hockey. “They're packing rinks and going to games and it's what they're talking about. They have their own hockey magazines and hockey cards - they have everything there we would have for our NHL.”

Still, it wasn't the NHL. And for a kid from New York with a dream to play hockey, a kid who grew up cheering for the New York Rangers and guys like Mike Richter and Brian Leetch, the end game is the NHL.

So after two years in Finland - the first with SaiPa Lappeenranta, the second with Assat Pori, when his team lost in the championship round of the playoffs - Forrest became a free agent.

Even though he had offers on the table for more money and a longer deal to stay in Europe, a return to his homeland was even more enticing. When the Hurricanes called again with hopes of signing Forrest to an NHL deal, it was a no-brainer.

Said Forrest, “Let's do that.”

Be sure to read Part 3 in Tuesday's edition of The Citizen.