(Laval) Geoff Molson grabbed attention last week when he said he wanted to see more diversity in the Canadiens’ hockey operations.
His organization is certainly not a leader in this area, but overall the NHL is lagging behind as well. Thus, to this day, Dirk Graham remains the only black head coach in the history of the circuit, and it was halfway through the season 23 years ago.
There were all the same racialized assistants here and there, and among the Stars of Texas, a Quebecer of Haitian origin would like to make his way in the middle of the coaches: Maxime Fortunus. Recently retired, the 38-year-old former defenseman is an assistant to head coach Neil Graham with the Dallas Stars school club.
Fortunus, who rolled his bump in the American League, is well aware that hockey is a very white medium. But he doesn’t intend to stop there.
“Our parents always warned us: ‘You might hear things on the ice.’ Yes, it will happen, but you turn around, you smile, you do your business on the ice and you show him why you are here, what you are able to do. I’ve always had this mentality, that nothing affected me, “Fortunus told us, when the Stars went to Place Bell for two games against the Rocket this week.
“I was focused on a goal and I’m trying to do that as a coach. Yes, we see all these things. But I wasn’t hired because they wanted diversity in the team. I was hired because of what I can do. ”
A sustainable player
What can he do? As a coach, it’s still hard to say, but his background as a player is unique.
Fortunus only played nine games in the NHL, but… 882 games in the American League! It’s good for the 19the rank in the history of the circuit. But in the top 20, they are only eight to have played in the years 2000. Let us add that he also spent two years in the ECHL and three in Germany.
With the approach of 350 games in the American League, Jérémy Grégoire begins to have an idea of the sacrifices required to last so long in an ungrateful circuit.
“In the American League, we count our years in dog years, we multiply them! To play so long and continue to “grind”, it’s spectacular, “launches the Quebecer, attacking with the Stars.
“It’s a league that’s really hard on the body, it’s tough,” continues Grégoire. Every day you play against a team that has strong guys. Everyone is hoping to get on, we’re so close, you can’t take an evening off, otherwise you’ll get wrecked. When you’re an honest guy, who makes a point of showing up every game, and you do that almost 1000 times, it starts to be in stock. ”
“You have to be prepared to beat the guy in front of you in every game, every practice. It was one of my strengths as a player, ”replied Fortunus.
Over the seasons, he understood that he had an interest in understanding hockey, playing systems. It started under Glen Gulutzan, who became head coach of the Texas Stars at 38, in 2009.
“He was close to the players, and I was older, I was a leader. He often asked us our opinion, I asked questions. That’s how I realized… I saw what he was doing off the ice. He was taking notes, how the guys trained, what worked, what didn’t. I realized that this part of hockey interested me. ”
He continued to be interested in it during his three seasons at Fischtown, Germany, where he concluded his career. “Then in the summer I coached my guy in his summer league. It gave me experience behind the bench. The intensity remained, I still had butterflies before a match! ”
As luck would have it, the Stars wanted to add a second assistant – they were operating with just one. And Fortunus was well acquainted with Cedar Park, the Austin suburb where the Stars play. He spent six years there as a player, from 2009 to 2015. The decision was therefore simplified for this father of three children. “My oldest is 14 years old, he has found his old friends! He says.
So he got the job and mainly deals with defensemen and shorthanded.
Fortunus remains elusive when asked if his ultimate goal is to become a head coach in the NHL. “I would like to continue in coaching. You never know where it’s going to take us, he said.
“I never wanted to skip steps, and it was like that when I was playing. My goal was to play in the NHL, but I started in ECHL and knew I had to put in some effort. Yes, the goal was to surrender, but even if it didn’t work, I had to keep working. ”
By being behind a bench in a prominent league all the same, Fortunus sends a strong message for inclusion.
“It shows young people that yes, it is possible,” he recalls. I always told myself that I was a little guy like the others, that I had nothing special. No matter what you do, when you want something, if you put in the effort, you will have a positive result. ”