Mike Danton
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Michael Sage Danton (''
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...
'' Jefferson, October 21, 1980) is a Canadian-Polish former professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player who last played for Rivière-du-Loup 3L in the LNAH. Danton played for the
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
and
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 s ...
of the
National Hockey League 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 ...
between 2000 and 2004, before being imprisoned for a
conspiracy to commit murder Conspiracy to murder is a statutory offence defined by the intent to commit murder. England and Wales The offence of conspiracy to murder was created in statutory law by section 4 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and retained as ...
. He was released on
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
on September 11, 2009 after 63 months in jail, the original sentence being 90 months. After being released from prison, he resumed his professional ice hockey career in various European leagues and in North America.


Junior hockey career

Danton was known as Mike Jefferson during his junior hockey career. As a youth, Jefferson played in the 1994
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...
with the Toronto Young Nationals
minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...
team. He began junior hockey in the 1996-97 season with the Quinte Hawks of the Metro Junior A Hockey League. He played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1997 to 2000 with the
Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...
, the
Toronto St. Michael's Majors The Toronto St. Michael's Majors were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The most recent franchise was revived on August 15, 1996. In 2007, the team relocated to Mississauga, Ontario an ...
, and the
Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League, based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Pre-OHL history There were two previous Barrie Colts teams which played Junior A & B hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association, one from 1 ...
. Playing for the Colts during the
2000 Memorial Cup The 2000 Memorial Cup occurred May 20–28 at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was the 82nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It featured t ...
, Jefferson commented that
Brad Richards Bradley Glen Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Lightning, New York Ra ...
would not last five games in the
Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...
. and later refused to shake Richards' hand after he had been named tournament MVP.


Professional hockey career (2000-2004)

Selected 135th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the
2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. This ...
, Danton was a left winger for the St. Louis Blues, who traded a 3rd round draft pick to New Jersey to obtain him. He played 68 games for the Blues in the 2003–04 season. While with the Devils organization, he changed his last name from Jefferson to Danton after becoming estranged from his family. He admitted he adopted the surname "Danton" from the name of a 13-year-old boy at
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
's hockey camp, because the name sounded "cool". He also feuded with
Devils A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. Devil or Devils may also refer to: * Satan * Devil in Christianity * Demon * Folk devil Art, entertainment, and media Film an ...
general manager
Lou Lamoriello Louis P. Lamoriello (born October 21, 1942) is an American professional ice hockey executive who is the president of hockey operations and general manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also the former gene ...
and was suspended by the team, prompting his eventual trade to
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
.


Arrest and imprisonment (2004–2009)

On April 16, 2004, two days after the Blues were eliminated from the first round of the
Stanley Cup Playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...
by 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 & Entertainm ...
, Danton was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
. On July 16, 2004, he pleaded guilty to attempting to hire a
hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
, who was actually a police
dispatcher A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical s ...
, to murder
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
, his
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
, and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Stiehl to seven-and-a-half years in a United States
federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...
. To this day, however, Frost denies that he was the target. In 2011, Danton claimed in an interview with
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
that his original target was his estranged father, Steve Jefferson. In November 2005, the CBC program '' The Fifth Estate'' aired a documentary, ''Rogue Agent'', about the history between Danton and Frost. In it, the documentary casts light on the controlling relationship Frost had with Danton and how he encouraged Danton to estrange himself from his parents, as well as an alleged incident where Frost and a group of his players abused Danton's younger brother. The documentary also focuses on a taped telephone call Danton made to Frost a week after his arrest. In it, Frost instructs Danton to plead guilty and ends the conversation demanding Danton say "I love you," which Danton does, further fueling speculation of a
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
relationship between the two. In 2006, Frost was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation related to acts on three females and four males between the ages of 14 and 16, alleged to have occurred during the time that Frost was Danton's junior hockey coach, with the Quinte Hawks. Frost was
acquit In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
ted of all charges on November 28, 2008; the trial included testimony from women who had participated in
threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...
s with other players and Danton. In an unrelated matter, Frost was also acquitted on February 14, 2009 of
fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
charges related to the use of one of Danton's
credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
s; Danton stated that Frost had his permission to use the card. In July 2008, in an article in the ''
Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'', it was revealed that Howard Kieffer, the lawyer who represented Danton in his murder conspiracy case, had never graduated from law school, and so was not licensed to practice law. In September 2008, Kieffer pleaded not guilty to two
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
charges, and news reports revealed that he would not be representing himself. On March 19, 2009, the United States
Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
granted Danton's request to be transferred to a Canadian prison after five years at FCI Sandstone; he was housed at the Pittsburgh Institution in
Joyceville, Ontario Joyceville is a community in Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of ...
. Under Canadian law, Danton was eligible for
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
, which was granted on September 11, 2009. Conditions of his parole include no contact with his father (who Danton now claims was the intended target), and no face-to-face meetings with Frost (widely believed to be Danton's actual target).


University hockey career (2010–2011)

Danton took university correspondence courses at Queen's University while imprisoned. In fall 2009 he applied to Saint Mary's University in Halifax,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
for January 2010 entry. Danton initially enrolled in three courses for the winter 2010 semester and joined the
Saint Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium located in the centre of the University's campus. In September 2 ...
varsity men's hockey team. On January 27, 2010, Danton played in his first game since being released from prison, and scored a goal for the Saint Mary's Huskies, during their 4-1 loss to the
Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and An ...
, played at the
Halifax Forum The Halifax Forum is an arena and multi-purpose facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its uses include sporting events, bingo, ice skating, concerts and markets. It was built in 1927 on the site of the former Nova Scotia Provin ...
in Halifax. On January 30, 2010, Danton played for the Huskies during a 5-3 loss to the
UPEI Panthers The UPEI Panthers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The UPEI Panthers have teams playing in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conferen ...
played at the MacLauchlan Arena in
Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
. On March 28, 2010, the Huskies defeated the
Alberta Golden Bears The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 93 national championships, including 79 U Sports sanctioned sports, making ...
to win the 2010
University Cup The David Johnston University Cup is a national collegiate sports award, presented annually to the champion of a season-ending tournament played by U Sports men's ice hockey teams in Canada. The UQTR Patriotes are the current champions for the 2 ...
, played in
Thunder Bay, Ontario Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...
. It was announced by
Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...
on October 4, 2010 that Danton had been named an Academic All-Canadian based on a student CIS athlete achieving a
grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
of 3.7 or higher. Danton achieved a 3.9 GPA overall through the winter and spring semesters as well as summer school, and it was revealed in a media story that his study ethic keeps him in the Patrick Power Library at Saint Mary's until 11pm each night.


Return to professional hockey (2011–2017)

On July 28, 2011, Danton announced on his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account that he had signed with a Swedish professional club for the 2011–12 season. The following day, this was confirmed to be the Division 1 club IFK Ore. The club explained that "We're obviously aware of his background but it was years ago". The club further explained that Danton's playing knowledge was the reason why the club chose to acquire him. The club made him team captain upon his arrival in Sweden. On September 18, 2011, while playing his first game for Ore, Danton saved teammate and linemate Marcus Bengtsson's life using skills he learned in prison. Following a hard hit, Bengtsson's head struck the ice, and he started convulsing. Danton waited for his teammate's mouth to release before using his hand to prevent Bengtsson from choking on his own tongue. Ore won the game 4–3 against Söderhamn/Ljusne HC. Playing in 27 games, Danton scored 16 goals and 25 assists for a total of 41 points. On December 17, 2011, following Ore's failure to reach the spring series called "Allettan",
Orli Znojmo Orli Znojmo (in English Znojmo Eagles) is a Czech-based ice hockey team that currently plays in the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League. The club Orli Znojmo is based in Znojmo and their home arena is Nevoga Arena. From 1999 to 2009, the club comp ...
of the
Erste Bank Eishockey Liga The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...
announced the signing of Danton. He spent the remainder of the season with the South Moravian club. On May 20, 2012, Coventry Blaze of the Elite Ice Hockey League announced the signing of Danton, although his place at the club was brought to an abrupt end due to the UK Border Agency twice rejecting his application for a UK entry visa.RE: Mike Danton, http://www.coventryblaze.co.uk/news_latest.php?id=2690 On September 29, 2012, after the departure of defenseman Dean Moore and forward Bill Keenan to IF Sundsvall of
HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system (after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL). Since the 2009–10 ...
, Kramfors-Alliansen of the Swedish Division 1 league signed Danton to a one-year contract. On January 9, 2013, Danton signed a contract with the HC ’05 Banská Bystrica in the
Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...
. He then started the 2013–14 season playing for
Beibarys Atyrau Beibarys Hockey Club ( kk, «Бейбарыс» хоккей клубы), commonly referred as Beibarys Atyrau, are a professional ice hockey team based in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. They were founded in 2009, and play in the Pro Hokei Ligasy, the top le ...
in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. After complaining about breaches in his contract, he had it terminated and moved to
HSC Csíkszereda Hoki Sport Klub Csíkszereda ( ro, Hockey Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc) is a professional ice hockey club based in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. They play in the country's top-level championship, the Romanian Hockey League, and also participate in the in ...
in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. On January 24, 2014, Danton signed for Ciarko PBS Bank KH Sanok of the
Polish Hockey League The Polska Hokej Liga is the premier ice hockey league in Poland. Previously, it was known as the I Liga or Ekstraklasa from 1926 to 1999, and the Polska Liga Hokejowa from 1999 to 2013. In 2013, it was reorganized as a limited liability company ...
, until the end of the season. With Sanok, he won the 2013–14 playoff championship. He re-signed for both the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons. Due to financial difficulty, the team did not compete in the 2016–17 season, so Danton went back to North America, signing with Rivière-du-Loup 3L of the LNAH. After one season in the LNAH, he retired from professional hockey.


Career statistics


References


External links

*
the fifth estate
– Rogue Agent

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danton, Mike 1980 births Living people Albany River Rats players Barrie Colts players 21st-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian prisoners and detainees Ice hockey people from Ontario New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Queen's University at Kingston alumni St. Louis Blues players Saint Mary's Huskies ice hockey players Sarnia Sting players Sportspeople convicted of crimes Sportspeople from Brampton Toronto St. Michael's Majors players