Manchester Storm are delighted to announce the signing of forward Maxime Fortier from Bratislava Capitals (ICEHL) for the Elite Series.

The junior hockey sensation has shared the ice with several NHL players, most recently Sergei Kostitsyn in Slovakia.

Before that, Fortier spent four full seasons with the storied Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) from 2014-18, producing 270 points (104G 106A) in 263 games. In his rookie major junior season, Fortier would rub shoulders with Nikolaj Ehlers and Timo Meier, before going on to earn an ‘A’ for the 2015-16 season.

This increased responsibility benefited Fortier’s on-ice performance, as the young Canadian led the Mooseheads in scoring for two consecutive campaigns, during which the speedy winger formed a formidable partnership with 2017 NHL draft 1^st overall pick, Nico Hischier.

In his final junior season, Fortier’s exceptional play was rewarded with the captaincy and an entry-level NHL contract with Columbus Blue Jackets. This contract led Fortier into the professional leagues and the Montreal-native would go on to make 43 AHL and 36 ECHL appearances before heading to Europe.

Head Coach, Ryan Finnerty, had this to say about the talented youngster:

“You only have to look through his junior career and the interest of a handful of NHL teams to understand how talented this guy is going forward.

I know he has worked under a great coach in Peter Draisaitl in Europe already and has shared the locker with a few of our squad already.

We are looking for Maxime to bring some speed, firepower and scoring to our forward lines. He has a great opportunity to earn himself a contract for next season and get to grips with British hockey.”

Welcome to Manchester, Max!

ELITE SERIES: Manchester Storm take on the Coventry Blaze on Saturday the 3rd April at the Nottingham Ice Arena in Elite Series action! Buy the webcast HERE! Face-off is 2pm!

#2021EliteSeries packages and single games are available to buy NOW! ! Multi-game packages will be available until 23:59 on Sunday 4 April 2021.

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