FORTUNUS PIVOTAL TO IOWA'S SUCCESS
Sep 16, 2015By Tom Witosky | Follow @toskyAHLWild
Maxime Fortunus remembers his mother’s advice well.
“My Mom always said ‘There is always someone looking at what you’re doing’,” the Iowa Wild’s recently signed veteran defenseman said.
Now that the 32-year-old veteran has signed a two-year contact with the Iowa Wild, he knows just how accurate his mother’s advice was. In June, Fortunus, despite a strong six-year run with the Texas Stars that included a Calder Cup championship in 2014 and being named captain of the Western Conference All-Star squad last year, found himself looking for a job when the Stars front office decided not to offer him a new contract.
“I was a little surprised,” Fortunus recalled. “When we first got the word it was like ‘What do we do now? Go to Europe?’ There were lots of different questions and scenarios. It was a big headache for about two months because we didn’t know what was going to happen.”
But Fortunus didn’t have to wait long to learn that another AHL team, looking for the leadership and commitment to excellence Fortunus has displayed over his career, had been watching and talking about how they might get him to move north.
“Max is a good addition,” John Torchetti, Iowa’s head coach, said recently. “He is a proven leader and a character guy.”
Entering his 12th season in professional hockey, the 5-foot 11-inch, 205-pounder has scored 64 goals and added 178 assists for an AHL career point total of 242 in 698 games with three teams. But more importantly, the Texas Stars captain for the last three seasons led his team to two Calder Cup finals and won one. He also played for one in 2009 when he was with the Manitoba Moose.
“The Calder Cup probably is the highlight of my career,” Fortunus said. “And it will be a bigger thrill when we win the next one.”
Tochetti said that kind of championship experience combined with Fortunus’ reputation as a leader in the locker room made him especially attractive to the Wild.
“He is good in the locker room, good with the trainers, just good all around,” Torchetti said. “He is a leader.”
Born in La Prairie, PQ, Fortunus is the son of Haitian immigrants who left their home country in 1975 to settle near Montreal. Fortunus’s father is an auto mechanic and his mother spent her time raising the family.
“Back then, there were a lot of people looking for work outside of Haiti,” Fortunus said. “And family members from both sides of the family began moving to Canada. There was domino effect so as one brother or one sister left, someone would follow.”
As a teenager, Fortunus excelled in hockey and soccer. As a midfielder, Fortunus played for the Quebec provincial team and was on track to play professional soccer. But he chose hockey when both sports began to demand much of his time.
“I really don’t know why I chose hockey, I just did,” he said, adding he is a big fan of Brazil’s national team and of the MLS Montreal Impact where his cousin, Patrice Bernier, plays.
Now, Fortunus is the father of three children, an eight-year-old son, a three-and-half year old daughter and a one-year son. Fortunus said his biggest concern during the transition out of Texas was that his family understood everything would be all right.
“As far as we were concerned, as long as our family was together wherever we were going to end up, it was going to be good and we are going to be happy and make it work,” he said.
On July 1 – the first day of free agency signing for the 2015-16 season, Fortunus called his agent after arriving home from a workout. The agent said that Minnesota was interested in signing him.
“I had been to Des Moines a few times and I knew it was a growing city and a good place to raise children,” he said. “I was surprised and really happy about it.
A bigger surprise, Fortunus said, was when he learned the club was willing to offer him a two-year contract not just one year.
“I really appreciated the show of confidence from them,” he said. “Two years is a good thing for stability. Once you get a family, making sure there is that stability is just so important for the kids. For us, it is always family oriented.”
That also prompted a decision by Fortunus to build a home in Waukee. “The first thing I told my wife is that we had had some really good luck to be moving to Des Moines,” he said.
With a home under construction and his school-aged son enrolled, Fortunus said that his focus will be on two things. Immediately, his goal is to prove his worth to the Wild and earn his spot on the roster. Longer term, the goal is to push improvement of the Wild’s performance on the ice and get the club into the playoffs.
“First, I have to earn my spot on the team just like anybody else. When you come into a new organization there is a lot to prove,” he said.
Once that is accomplished, Fortunus said that there is only one other goal.
“I want to win. It is plain and simple. As a team, we are here to win,” he said.
Fortunus has embraced the role of veteran player in that effort though he acknowledges he has never been the oldest player on the roster. He said his experience in Manitoba playing with veteran wing Mike Keane, who played five seasons for the Moose after an 18-year NHL career, provided him with the example he wants to set for the Wild.
“I got to see a good leader and what he could bring to a locker room. He helped build the locker room and that is what I want to do,” he said.
And what will be the first lesson he tries to impart to his new teammates.
“You have to take it step- by – step,” he said. “For most players that means you have to play here and show that you can play at this level. If you do that, then the time will come when you open someone’s eyes. There is always someone looking.”
Good advice.