Daniel Chester Hinote (born January 30, 1977) is an American former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
player and current assistant coach for the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
.
He finished his playing career playing for
Modo Hockey
Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one SHL championships; in 2007. ...
of the Swedish
Elitserien. Though born in Florida, he was raised in
Rogers, a small town near
Elk River, Minnesota
Elk River is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 34 miles northwest of Minneapolis. It is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. The population was 25,835 at the 2020 census, making Elk ...
, where he attended
Elk River High School.
Playing career
Hinote accepted an appointment to the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
in 1995, and initially planned on a career with the
FBI. He left the Academy in 1996 when he became the first NHL player ever to be drafted from West Point when the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...
selected him in the 7th round (167th overall pick) of the
1996 NHL Entry Draft
The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996.
The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season.
...
.
Hinote subsequently spent one and a half seasons playing major junior hockey for the
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. In November 2016, ...
of the
OHL before turning pro with Colorado's
AHL affiliate, the
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since ...
, midway through the 1997–98 season.
Hinote cracked the Avs' roster in the
1999–2000 season out of training camp, but spent most of that season in Hershey before making the NHL roster for good the next season. Though he would only score once during that brief call-up in 1999-2000, the goal itself marked the first time a
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
-born player ever scored an NHL goal. Hinote demonstrated good offensive potential as an NCAA, OHL and AHL player. However, at the NHL level he has been known more for his defensive skills and efficient
penalty killing than for scoring. Hinote was a member of the
Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
.
In 2004–05, Hinote joined
Modo Hockey
Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one SHL championships; in 2007. ...
of the
Swedish Elitserien during the
NHL lockout
The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League:
* The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season
* The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...
.
On July 3, 2006, Hinote signed a multi-year contract with the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
as an unrestricted free agent. A shoulder injury limited Hinote to only 41 games in his first season with the Blues. A recurring hip injury caused him to miss 24 games during the
2007–08 season.
On September 4, 2009, it was announced that Hinote would participate in the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...
training camp for the
2009–10 season. He did not make the roster and was released by the Sharks on September 27, 2009. On November 18, 2009, Hinote signed a one-year contract with MoDo Hockey in the Swedish Elitserien, the club he played for during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Coaching career

After completing the
2009–10 season with Modo, Hinote retired as a professional hockey player, and took a job as an assistant coach for the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...
on July 1, 2010.
On June 4, 2014, Hinote announced he would not sign a contract extension as an assistant along with the rest of
Todd Richards' coaching staff and was succeeded by
Brad Larsen. Hinote said he would move to Chicago due to family matters.
Hinote worked part time with the Blue Jackets as a scout, while also working full time as a stock broker with
Wedbush Securities
Wedbush Securities Inc. is a privately held investment firm based in Los Angeles. As of February 2022, the firm had $4.1 billion under management with 7,460 clients.
History
The firm was founded in 1955 by two high school friends, E ...
. He is an active volunteer with the
NHL Alumni Association
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, leading a program called BreakAway which helps former players deal with the challenges of life off the ice. He lives in
Novi, Michigan
Novi ( ) is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,243, an increase of 20% from the 2010 census.
A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Novi is located about northwest of the city of ...
, a suburb of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
.
In September 2020 he was hired as an assistant coach by the Nashville Predators after two seasons as an associate coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program.
Career statistics
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinote, Dan
1977 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey right wingers
Army Black Knights men's ice hockey players
Colorado Avalanche draft picks
Colorado Avalanche players
Columbus Blue Jackets coaches
Columbus Blue Jackets scouts
Hershey Bears players
Ice hockey people from Florida
Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota
Modo Hockey players
Oshawa Generals players
People from Rogers, Minnesota
People from Leesburg, Florida
St. Louis Blues players
Stanley Cup champions
Ice hockey players from Minnesota
Military personnel from Minnesota