Danton Cole

Danton Cole
Born (1967-01-10) January 10, 1967
Pontiac, MI, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Winnipeg Jets
Tampa Bay Lightning
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft 123rd overall, 1985
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 19892000
Danton Cole
Sport(s) Ice hockey
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999–2001 Grand Rapids Griffins (assistant)
2001–2002 Muskegon Fury
2002–2005 Grand Rapids Griffins
2004–2006 Motor City Mechanics
2006–2007 Bowling Green (assistant)
2007–2010 Alabama-Huntsville
2013–present US NTDP
Head coaching record
Overall 23-59-12 (.309)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2010 College Hockey America Tournament Champion

Danton Edward Cole (born January 10, 1967 in Pontiac, Michigan) is a retired professional hockey player and current Head Coach at the USA Hockey Under 18 Developmental National Program, who played in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Chicago Blackhawks. He played right wing and shot right-handed.

Playing career

Cole was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the 6th round, 123rd overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He then went to Michigan State University where he played for 4 years, scoring 62 points in 47 games his senior year there. Cole then reported to the Moncton Hawks of the AHL for the 1989–1990 season, playing in 80 games. That year he also made his NHL debut with the Jets, scoring 2 points in 2 games. The next year he earned a full-time spot with the Jets and played there for another 2 years.

Prior to the 1992–1993 season Cole was traded to the newly formed Tampa Bay Lightning and became part of the original Lightning roster. While with the Lightning Cole enjoyed his best season in the NHL, when he scored 43 points in 81 games during the 1993–1994 season. The 1994–1995 season saw Cole play the majority of the season with the Lightning before being traded to the New Jersey Devils. That year the Devils won the Stanley Cup and Cole had his name engraved on the Cup.

Following the Stanley Cup win Cole played the majority of the 1995–1996 season in the IHL. He also played with the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks but saw only 12 games the whole season. This would be the last time Cole played in the NHL. He then split a year playing in Germany and the Grand Rapids Griffins, followed by two full years with the Griffins. Cole then played 2 games with the Griffins during the 1999–2000 season before officially announcing his retirement.

Coaching career

Immediately after retiring Cole joined the Griffins as an assistant coach. He stayed there until the 2001–2002 season when he coached the Muskegon Fury of the UHL for one season, leading them to a championship win. He then joined the Griffins again, this time as head coach, and coached there until he was replaced midseason during the 2004–2005 season. Cole was assistant coach at Bowling Green State University during 2005 to 2007. Cole was the head coach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville starting with the 2007–2008 season. As head coach of the UAH Hockey team, in the 2009-2010 season, Danton Cole brought UAH to its second ever appearance into the NCAA Tournament by winning the CHA conference tournament in over time 3-2. Following the 2009–10 season, Cole resigned as UAH's head coach to accept a coaching position with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.[1]

Career statistics[2]

    Regular season  
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM
1989–1990 Winnipeg Jets NHL 2 1 1 2 0
1990–1991 Winnipeg Jets NHL 66 13 11 24 24
1991–1992 Winnipeg Jets NHL 52 7 5 12 32
1992–1993 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 67 12 15 27 23
1993–1994 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 81 20 23 43 32
1994–1995 Lightning-New Jersey Devils NHL 38 4 5 9 14
1995–1996 NY Islanders-Chicago Blackhawks NHL 12 1 0 1 0
6 Years Totals NHL 318 58 60 118 125

College Head Coaching record[3]

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (College Hockey America) (2007-08–2009-10)
2007-08 Alabama-Huntsville 6-21-4 3-13-4 5th CHA Quarterfinal
2008-09 Alabama-Huntsville 5-20-5 3-11-4 4th CHA Consolation Game (Tie)
2009-10 Alabama-Huntsville 12-18-3 6-10-2 t-3rd NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals
Alabama-Huntsville: 23-59-12 12-34-10
Total: 23-59-12

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. Benson, Reggie (June 21, 2010). "UAH's Cole accepts new job with USA hockey program". The Huntsville Times.
  2. "Danton Cole". Hockey DB. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  3. "Alabama-Huntsville Chargers Hockey Year-by-Year". Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. Retrieved 2014-08-06.

External links

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