Basically, anyone who can play defense at the NHL level can play forward, right? I mean, if you have some offensive skill.
I often think more coaches / teams should experiment with this. As an example on my team, I'm of the opinion that Darnell Nurse would make a very good 2nd or 3rd line center (he's a great distance passer, though he has a muffin shot), but as a top-4 defenseman, he's extrememly unreliable.
But I guess it's harder to groom and develop D-men, so once teams get one, they tend to leave him there. But hey, if Wendel Clark can do it...