It wasn’t always the plan, but for Stanley Cup champion Dan Hinote, coaching has become a natural fit.
“It's been a whirlwind, you know, and it's been a great learning experience,” Hinote said of his role behind the bench with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. “I wasn't used to the travel or the logistics down here, but the personalities, they feed my soul. These guys just want to make it.”
Hinote played nine seasons in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. As his career wound down in St. Louis, mentorship became second nature.
“I had Oshie, Perron, Backes, all these young kids coming up,” he recalled. “And based on Peter, Joe, Foote, all those guys raising me. It was like, 'This is my responsibility.'”
A call from Columbus sparked his coaching career.
“Chris MacFarland reaches out and is like, ‘Hey, would you be interested in coaching?’ I hadn't even thought about it, but it's kind of what I’d been doing.”
Now with the Eagles, Hinote brings lessons from legends.
“I was just a grinder on a team full of Hall of Famers,” he said. “Hartley, Tocchet, Granato. If you take a little from each, you build something that works for you.”
As players try to jump from the AHL to the NHL, Hinote offers this advice:
“You might be first power play here, but five minutes up there, you have to fit into the puzzle that is the Avalanche," Hinote said.
Now, as the Colorado Eagles battle the Abbotsford Canucks in the Pacific Division Final, Hinote’s influence is helping guide the next generation one shift at a time.
