Daniel Chester Hinote was a player who never seemed to be hindered by expectations of the game of hockey, nor of life. It would appear as though he was destined to just divert from the anticipated path at every possible opportunity. When you look at each development in his path to the NHL and even after his career there began, each milestone just seems very atypical. Each developmental step seemed to defy expectations. I think it is worth deep diving into how he ended up the player that he became, a key role player on a Stanley Cup championship winner who, by all logical measures, should never have even set foot into the National Hockey League.

The beginning of Hinote’s bio in and of itself feels unusual for a NHL player from his era. He was born in Leesburg, Florida on January 30th, 1977. While players from the U.S. Sunbelt are nothing out of the ordinary in the contemporary setting, this would provide an opportunity for him to stand out in the time period that he played in. That said, Hinote was raised in a much more traditional setting for his sport: Hennepin County, Minnesota, a core location in the State of Hockey. Attending Elk Grove High School and playing for their varsity team, with whom he scored their first ever state tournament goal, he was accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point and enrolled as a cadet. His rationale as stated in the above link was that he wanted to work for the FBI after high school, but his parents’ financial situation did not lend itself easily to higher education (as evidenced by the fact that his first pair of skates came from inside a dumpster), so he worked hard to get into an institution that gives cadets a full ride. At this stage, he had no aspirations of being a professional athlete and, while talented, he was overlooked somewhat due to his linemates being even more skilled than him. He was productive as a freshman with the Army Black Knights, putting up 45 points (via 21 goals and 24 assists) in 34 games, and used this look that he got that he “maybe wouldn’t have” elsewhere to leap frog to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals to further his development, therefore leaving West Point after just one year and forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility. He additionally was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in Round 7 of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft at 167th overall, therefore making him the first ever Army Black Knight to be drafted by a National Hockey League franchise. Hinote would play effectively one and a half seasons in the OHL/CHL with Oshawa, gathering 55 points in 95 games (in his second campaign, he tallied 27 points in 35 games as opposed to 28 points in 60 outings in his first season, therefore nearly matching his scoring output in nearly half as many games). He would be called up to the AHL during that partial second campaign, seeing time and growing the next few years with the Hershey Bears (then the Avs’ AHL affiliate).

His 1999-00 campaign would be his professional breakout season, as he tallied 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points in 55 games, earning his first NHL call-up. He would play 27 games that year and tally 4 points (including scoring his first career NHL goal, which made him the first ever Floridian-born player to ever find the back of the net in the National Hockey League) as he settled into the bottom-six forward role known primarily for defensive reliability, penalty killing, and faceoffs that he would come to be relied upon for. In the 2000-01 campaign, he would be a permanent fixture on the roster, as he was depended upon for these deployments in all but 6 regular season games as the Avalanche captured the Presidents’ Trophy and would be present throughout the entirety of their playoff run, which culminated in them winning their second Stanley Cup as they defeated the New Jersey Devils in 7 games in the Final (noteworthy for bringing ex-Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque his only championship ring after setting the record for most games played by a player before winning his first Stanley Cup championship, with his seasons played of 22 only since being matched by Dave Andreychuk when he captured a ring with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004). He would continue to be called upon for this sort of play over the next several seasons, though his availability would falter a bit the next three years as he would play 58, 60, and 59 games respectively. The last of those three seasons was in a sense the most noteworthy (even though the 2001-02 squad would go to the Western Conference Finals and push their rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, who were arguably the greatest individual team in NHL history, to seven games), as he welcomed in two legends most well known for their time together with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the form of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne with a memorable interview as they joined an already stacked roster in pursuit of a Stanley Cup, as well as out of a desire to play together again. It is primarily memorable, however, for disappointment, as the 2003-04 season marked the first time since relocating from Quebec that the Avalanche did not win their division, as they trailed the Vancouver Canucks (with whom they had developed a very violent rivalry that included at least one of the darkest on-ice incidents in NHL history) by just 1 point (101 to 100). Kariya and Selanne’s productivity that year, particularly the latter as he had the worst season of his career (yes, worse than his 43-year-old season ten years later) and the former, while putting up respectable numbers, was not quite the same due to an early season wrist sprain. Peter Forsberg missed the back half of the season, therefore adding yet another issue to the forward group that the likes of Joe Sakic and Alex Tanguay tried mightily to anchor to success. The aforementioned incident involving Todd Bertuzzi of the Canucks ended Steve Moore’s career prematurely, which was another blow to their depth. Ultimately, this storm of events caused the team to falter somewhat and end up seeded fourth, which would lead to them being eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in round two in 6 games after having dispatched the Dallas Stars in 5 in the quarterfinals. A season that seemed to promise so much yielded very little.

The 2004-05 lockout would eliminate the entire following NHL season, so Hinote, like many of his peers, plied his trade elsewhere. He landed with Modo Hockey in Sweden and played 18 games, notably tallying 106 PIMs, the most in his entire career in any league. He would return to the Avalanche in 2005-06 and have the most availability that he’d had since his first full season, playing 73 games and continuing to perform well in his bottom-six role. However, this would be his final season in Denver, as he would test the market as a UFA and wound-up signing a multi-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. While performing at a respectable clip with regards to offensive productivity over the following two seasons for someone in his role, he would be hampered by injuries and play just 150 games over his three years with St. Louis. He participated in the San Jose Sharks’ training camp prior to the 2009-10 season, but would not make the final roster. Hinote then chose to return to Modo Hockey in Sweden, finishing his career with the team that provided him work during the biggest labor stoppage in NHL history. In his final professional season as a player, Hinote would tally 8 points in 24 games. Upon his retirement at 33, he would become an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he would remain for four years. His post-retirement life has seen him wear many proverbial hats, including Blue Jackets scout, full-time stock broker, volunteering with the NHL Alumni Association (particularly regarding helping players navigate post-playing life), serving as an assistant coach with the US NTDP, and presently – Assistant coach with the Nashville Predators. It makes sense that a playing career which always strayed from the norm in every possible way would be followed by a post-retirement life that has seen many different applications of effort, intellect, and energy.

Dan Hinote’s career and life have quite honestly been remarkable. Just on the surface level, the fact that the first (and so far, only) ever Army Black Knight to crack the NHL got his name carved on the Cup and unequivocally earned his ring makes a huge statement. Getting into the specifics only makes the picture more intriguing. While his career could have been even more than it was, it was enough to really capture the fascination of an onlooker. Truth be told, a biopic about him would be quite the watch. Starting the story with a pair of skates from a dumpster and having the climax be winning the Stanley Cup as a solid role player for a good team is quite the narrative. His continued involvement in the game and his post-career efforts only further demonstrate his adaptability. We shall see what the rest of the road as a coach and whatever else he may elect to do brings for Hinote. I am sure it will be just as interesting as the beginning of it.