The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that Dan Hinote has been named associate head coach of the organization’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Hinote, at the age of 47, has returned to the Avalanche organization, where he had previously played for six seasons in the NHL and achieved a Stanley Cup victory in 2001. He was chosen by Colorado in the seventh round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, as the 167th overall pick. Hinote had a total of 353 regular season games with the Avs from 1999-00 to 2005-06, accumulating 65 points with 27 goals and 38 assists. His highest number of appearances in a single season was 76 during the 2000-01 campaign, and he played in all 23 playoff games that spring, contributing to Colorado’s Stanley Cup triumph.

Originally from Leesburg, Florida, the individual in question has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators. Their contributions have greatly assisted the team in reaching the playoffs in three out of the four seasons. Beginning their coaching career with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010-2011 season, they spent four seasons as a coach before transitioning into a professional scouting role with the same team. Following their four-year tenure as a scout from 2014-2018, they joined the United States National Team Development program. Within this program, they served as an associate coach for Team USA’s Under-17 and Under-18 squads from 2018-2020. Additionally, they held the position of assistant coach for the United States’ bronze-medal entry at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Russia.

“Dan has a diverse background in professional hockey, including a decade as a player in the NHL and nearly a decade as a coach in the NHL,” said Avalanche Assistant General Manager Kevin McDonald.  “He is a strong teacher of the game and relates well to younger players with his experience playing in college hockey, at the major junior level as well as his time as a coach with Team USA’s Under 17 and 18 teams.  We are excited to have Dan back with the Avalanche organization and look forward to having him behind the Eagles bench this season.”

Hinote wrapped up his NHL playing days after accumulating a total of 90 points (38 goals and 52 assists) in 503 regular season games split between the Avalanche and Blues. In addition, he contributed 15 points (6 goals and 9 assists) in 72 Stanley Cup playoff matches. Following his departure from the Avalanche, he went on to spend three seasons with St. Louis from 2006 to 2009, and then concluded his career with one season in Sweden playing for MODO in 2009-2010.

Before starting his professional career, Hinote played for the Oshawa Generals for two seasons, from 1996 to 1998. During his time with the team, Hinote played a crucial role in helping Oshawa secure the J. Ross Robertson Cup as champions of the OHL in the 1996-97 season. Prior to joining the Generals, Hinote had spent two seasons at the United States Military Academy at West Point, from 1994 to 1996.