[0:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Us a Good Story. We have waited over six months to talk to this next guest, and let me tell you, it was well worth the wait. Friends meet former NHL player and now coach Dan Hinote. Oh, you guys, this is one of the most fun interviews ever. Dan is such a good storyteller and just a fun guy to talk to. From a hilarious hockey fight story to the traditions of what you do after winning the Stanley Cup trophy. I would love to meet him in person someday, Steph. Oh, Kevin, I would too. Also, Dan shares some very funny stories from his time at West Point Academy and what it was like at one time to be related to the famous actor Jim Carrey. Oh, you guys, you will love this. We can’t wait for to hear this conversation with our new friend, Coach Dan Hino. I’m Kevin. And I’m Stephanie. And during our marriage, we have dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery. Then doctors telling us that children were not in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis. However, today, we live a life completely healed and restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible. And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day. Welcome to… Tell Us a Good Story.

[1:15] Okay, friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the subscribe button on YouTube and Apple podcast or give us a review. Five stars, please. In our world, this is super, super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us. And thank you for sharing our post across your social media. That really helps with engagement and with us getting guests. Yes. So, hey, if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, please share us with your friends. But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story. All right, Steph. This has been in the works for the past, I believe, six months. Is it since February? It’s since February to talk to this next guest. Well, friends, our next guest is the new associate head coach of the Colorado Avalanches American Hockey League team, the Colorado Eagles. He returns to the Avalanche organization where he played his first six NHL seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2001. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to Tell Us a Good Story. Mr. Dan Hynote. Coach Dan Hynote! Yes!

[2:18] That’s way better receiving than what I get in the away games. I bet. I bet. Well, thank you for saying yes to us. Of course, we were introduced to you by mutual friend, Coach Brad Larson, who’s the former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach here. And after we talked to him, he was immediately like, you know what? You need to talk to my friend, Coach Dan Hynote. And so as part of the vetting process, we had a conversation. This was, you know, a few weeks back and you immediately said, hey, I listened to that episode and Steph, he knows exactly what he signed up for. Does he though? Because I started to warn him about your energy and he was like, listen, I’ve been listening to y’all. I know what I signed up for. So he’s totally familiar with you, your energy and what you may ask. Okay. So since you listened already, I have to ask you, are those your real teeth? Oh God, no. No. Oh God, no. And you’d be hard pressed to find any hockey player with all of his real teeth, but these all.

[3:17] I actually just got replaced because they’ve all been knocked out at some point. And no lie, one at a time. Oh, no. Yeah, no. You would hope it would just be one stick. They all go. You get them fixed. But it was like one here. And then a couple of months later or years later, this one. Like all the way down until finally I had a bridge. And the bridge broke this year. And it’s been on for 20 years. So I finally had it replaced. So no, they’re not my real teeth. But these are now. Okay. So at what age? You’ve played hockey pretty much your entire life. At what level do you start getting your teeth knocked out? It depends on where you play. So I played college for a year and a half and then left college and went and played major junior in Canada. And as soon as you get to major junior, you can wear a half shield. That’s when you start losing teeth. In college, you have a full cage. So you end up with a lot of pressure scars if you’re hitting with your head like I used to, like a dum-dum. And you end up with pressure scars from the chin guard. And I probably had 6,000 stitches underneath my chin but no teeth missing and then I go right to major junior and the first year I had my first two teeth knocked out because I’m like oh I’m so happy I don’t have to wear a cage anymore because it’s kind of like a passing you know like where you’re like I don’t need any you know I’m a hockey player I don’t need any protection give me the least amount I can get.

[4:34] Don’t be an idiot you’re going to lose your teeth it’s expensive and you know of course very first year I lost two teeth so you know as you know as karma would have it i’d started that track down the fake teeth route okay i got a question out of all the injuries you’ve ever had is losing your teeth the most painful, no in fact a lot that’s why you see guys guys will and this is one of my favorite stories from when i was playing junior so the puck’s coming up the wall if you can visualize it and i get to the boards and i toe pick which means you basically fall like face first okay it hits the boards, bounces up the boards and because i told pick my pace was at the perfect level for the puck to hit my just oh no and so two teeth come out like instantly and you’re just like looking around i got teeth on the ice and the ref the ref skates by he’s like hey are you gonna play or what and i was like yeah i’m good good and then continued to play and then you know he had picked up my teeth and delivered them to the bed but like that’s hockey like the refs like not blowing the whistle for you everybody loses their teeth are you gonna play or not oh my god And I was like, yeah, yeah, I’m good. And meanwhile, I’m bleeding all over the place. And you get to the bench and they freeze it or do what they do. And then you get back out there. You know, that’s hockey. I would be calling timeout. Hey, players on the visitor team, can you look with me as well here? They’re like skating around. I wasn’t expecting that. I’m like, hey, just play on. Yeah. Yeah.

[6:01] So just so you know, full transparency here, I reached out to a mutual friend, Coach Brad Larson yesterday, to try to get some intel on this conversation we’re having right now. And please verify if any of this is true. All right. So Dan here and Brad apparently met in the minor leagues. Okay. And in typical hockey fashion, when they met, apparently Brad wanted to fight Dan. Oh, no.

[6:26] Like in one of the first practices. Dan apparently shrugged him off, didn’t fight, okay? But then, shortly thereafter in the locker room, they become the best of friends. Okay. To the point stuff where they buy a house together when they’re with the Colorado Avalanche. Okay. They buy a dog together. Okay. Which I’ve never heard of. I’ve never heard of professional athletes buying pets together, buying homes together. So what happens when he signed with another team? Is it you keep the house, he keeps the dog? how does that work yeah so basically you just have to buy him out of what you know the equity in the house and then and then all of a sudden he gets traded to atlanta and i’m stuck with this this big house so i gotta i gotta pay him off right i have to find roommates and it’s a whole thing but let’s clear something up i was trying to fight brad okay you know you know it’s it’s always first to market now it sounds like i’m i’m hiding it but he tried to meet me it was training camp and then we turn and we gave each other a couple shots and then you know and he tells it the opposite way man and I don’t I think it’s been lost in translation since no one can prove anything so I’m sticking with my story but it’s so funny how it works in hockey where if you end up fighting a guy it might even be in practice as soon as you’re done yeah like usually as soon as the fight’s done you guys are instantly closer.

[7:48] You know you’re instantly tighter because of that little bit of adversity that you had in hockey, it’s like guys that fight each other have this mutual respect that goes beyond just being teammates anymore so it’s kind of it’s kind of cool yeah it’s crazy because you would think like in the real world you fight somebody you hate that person yes and they hate you in hockey it’s like yeah we’re tight now we just it’s a bonding experience yeah exactly it’s like that babe It’s like us. When we fight, apparently we’re bonding. Not to that level.

[8:19] Not to that level. It very much is like a relationship. If you guys communicate properly and get through it the right way, you come closer after a fight. Same in hockey. It’s like hockey. We bonded. Okay, so what’s your best hockey fight story then? Because Coach Larson, when we talked to Brad, he had a few, including one in the, I think it was his first professional minor league game where there was like you know 35 ejections or something right for oh yeah crazy fights i was i was in that game oh you were i was in that game with him yeah first team versus billy it was yes yes that’s right hershey that’s right so besides that what’s the craziest hockey fight hockey situation you’ve been involved with coach well you can look this up because it’s quite entertaining for everyone but me but i was in so it’s during the lockout this would have been 04 okay and And during the lockout, it was a full-year lockout, and so all the guys were scattered across the earth to play. And I went to Sweden and lived with one of my teammates that lived over there. And we were playing in the elite league, the Swedish elite league, which is their top level. And we get to play Team Axe in playoffs. Well, Team Axe had Zdeno Chara on their team.

[9:33] And he was an absolute nightmare to play against in the nhl but now you take him and put him in the swedish league and no one goes towards this guy like he was we were playing them in the first round of playoffs and he was single-handedly him and sheldon surrey keeping us off the board okay because he was so mean and the rules were pretty lax in sweden for that kind of thing so okay so anyway i knew he hated me because most guys do and so i told my teammate i was like so this was game two i think or maybe three anyway we were losing and i said uh i said i think i can get him to fight me and so uh just so you know does he know charles six seven six eight oh my god he’s a greco his dad was a olympic greco roman wrestler he’s so he’s not just tall he’s a monster so he knows things too then if he’s a wrestler yeah it’s one thing to be big it’s another to be able to use it properly yes because he was a he’s a beast too like he’s a one of the strongest.

[10:29] Guys ever in the league which i didn’t know unfortunately and so so i’m like i think i get him to fight me i know he hates me and my teammate was like no don’t just don’t like it’s not worth it like whatever so anyway game three starts i go to the net and he’s on the ice so here’s my chance so i kind of snow the goalie which is a very big no-no in any league but i’m just trying to draw his ire so anyway he comes up and this is how strong he grabs my earpiece we have these little ear pieces that kind of hang down to protect you. And he grabs it and just tries to like pull me away from the goalie, but he just rips my ear piece right off my helmet.

[11:04] Oh my gosh. So I take a, yeah, he’s like that. So I take a wild swing and I hit him like right in the lip and then the wires cross.

[11:11] And now he’s just boom, boom, boom. And you have to really watch the video because it is ridiculous how I stayed alive during this fight because literally I am down. He picks me up. Like I am, i look like neo in the matrix just to clearly avoid these these punches that would have ended my career but i’ve never felt less like a man than him manhandling me with one arm while he was beating me up but i survived the fight and in sweet and the way it works is if you fight you get suspended for that game and the next game so it was like that’s a great trade for our team because he’s out and I’m not.

[11:50] So now he and I both go. We end up winning that game and then kind of furthering on the series. We ended up not winning the series. But when you see the video, you’ll understand why. It’s the fight everyone talks about when they talk about me because it is just like, oh my God. So you’ll have to watch it when this is over to get scope. But yeah, that’s the craziest fight story I got. Do you regret not listening to your buddy at that point? Like when you’re in the fetal position, you’re like, maybe I should have done this. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Yeah, maybe this wasn’t the best decision.

[12:18] I was kind of like on adrenaline and I go in the locker room and I’m like, I did it. I didn’t think I would. And then, and then I looked in the mirror and I look like, Oh no. Rocky Dennis. You remember Rocky Dennis from mask when his face? Yes. Yes. Yeah. That’s what my face looked like. Just like, no, like it was just mangled. So then I was like, Oh my God, maybe I didn’t survive it. But then the guys started coming in after the period. And every single one of them came up and gave me a big hug. Really? Yeah. Cause they understood what, why I did what I did. Right. And they appreciate it. Cause now they don’t have to get crushed by him anymore. Yeah. Next couple of games. so then it was like okay then it’s worth it all right Steph I’m going to test you again here what is your favorite book of all time obviously it’s the Bible Kevin yes nailed it very good this time you didn’t say the book we wrote called You Met Her Where but it’s still a really good book that is true and it would make a great gift for friends or relatives on their birthday or for Christmas friends you can order your copy of our book titled You Met Her Where at kevinandsteph.com and we will make sure to personally sign a copy for you or whoever you want. And as always, thank you for listening to tell us a good story.

[13:26] What’s been your most favorite fan interaction? The thing I love about hockey is how much we’re in the community. There’s a, there’s a really good relationship between hockey and the community because the guys are blue collar and they appreciate because people got to make a lot of sacrifices for you to play hockey, right? It’s expensive. You got to drive to the rink. It’s like six in the morning or 11 at night. It’s terrible. And you’re, you know, everybody’s sacrifice. So, you know, you, You just grow up appreciating everybody that helps you and so on. My favorite was when we won the cup.

[13:57] And there was a guy from my hometown. I grew up in a small town, but there’s been four or five NHLers come out of there. Oh, my gosh. Before me, there was only one, but he had won the cup in Calgary. And rightfully so. He took the cup to his cabin and did his family thing, which was awesome.

[14:14] But the people of my hometown wanted it. You know, I’m from Minnesota. Minnesota is hockey crazy. And so they wanted to see the cup. So when we won, I was so excited to bring it back to my hometown because it hadn’t been there yet. And then everybody – because I brought it to the rink. And then from this time to this time, everybody can come take pictures with the cup. And so the line was out the building and whatever. And everybody came and got a picture with the cup. And so then they got to see it. They were all grateful and they’re good people there. So that was my favorite. I love that. Because I don’t make it without Oak River. I don’t make it without those people, right? They deserve it as much as I do. That’s fantastic. I love that. You’re their hero. Yeah. Especially for bringing that back. So when you’re in Nashville, I had read, Coach, where you were known for doing some of those in-game interviews. Now, most coaches, at least when I watch other sports, they hate doing them because you’re focused on the game. Now the TV announcer is annoying me. They’re going to ask me a couple questions. So with you, what would happen if you were like brutally honest, right? Like, man, if Tommy would get his head out of his rear end, we’d be playing better. How did you handle those in-game interviews?

[15:30] It’s so funny you ask, because I just did a podcast on one of the Nashville networks here, and they asked about that. Because I love them, because to me, the guys are really up on what’s being said about them, right, in the media. It’s just the new age player. They care. So when you’re talking to the TV, like, I got about eight guys in front of me that can hear what I’m saying. Oh, right.

[15:53] And I have been brutally honest, so the fans have loved it. It but when i when i met theresa i realized and she made sure of it that i’m not cool i’m not i’m not cool i don’t need to worry about being cool like i’m never gonna be cool so stop worrying about what people are gonna think and do and whatever so i stopped caring about what people think i don’t care and so now i can be brutally honest in those in those interviews because i really don’t care i’m not i’m never gonna bad mouth anybody but i can honestly say the guys aren’t doing it the guys just don’t have it right now we need to be better and the eight guys that are sitting in front of me they’ll listen to that and they’ll be like okay well like let’s go you know it all there’s to me there’s a method to the madness that you can that you can benefit uh from if you use it the right way all right coach for all of our guests i like to give a list of fun facts to let listeners know what you’ve done what you’ve accomplished and steph is not aware of any of these. Okay. So you’re going to see her genuine reaction and any stories, please feel free to share and keep me honest. If I’m wrong on any of these, please keep me honest. All right, Steph, you ready? Yes. Fun fact number one, coach Dan Highnote, just two years after retiring from the NHL, he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach and actually lived here for four years. No.

[17:11] He lived here in Columbus for four years. Okay. So were you surprised by by the Ohio State fandom here and the intensity around Ohio State football? I’ve never seen anything like that. Like, you know, I’m in sports, but I’ve never put, like I’ve never seen it on a level where, where like it’ll ruin Sundays in the city, the entire city, like the energy of the entire city would change if Ohio State lost, performed well. Like it was like, well, I’m not going out there, forget it. We lost last night against Michigan, like forget it, I’m not going anywhere. And that’s a real thing. I had no idea. And then the O-H-I-O. Like, what? You know?

[17:50] Because, you know, like, they’re everywhere. Once you realize it, you see them everywhere. Yes. And it’s awesome because I, like, from an athlete’s perspective or even a coach’s, that’s what you want, right? You get that kind of fan base. Like, the energy that your players can get from, you know, that kind of fandom can change a game. And that’s what happens a lot in Columbus because those fans are crazy. Yes. in an awesome way because people don’t expect that. You don’t go to Columbus expecting it to be a madhouse, but it’s a madhouse in there. It is. So I have a big place in my heart for the people in Columbus in my time there because it was awesome. Do people recognize you or with the hockey gear and everything, it’s kind of hard to. It’s different. Yes. So I was curious how that works. Yeah. A little more so as a coach just because when they see you, you look how you look on the street. Yes. But unless unless you’re one of the players that are constantly getting press or on TV or interviewed, it’s hard to pick out guys because, you know, it’s like imagining someone without their hair. It’s just impossible to tell when you see them with unless they got a huge nose like I do. And then it’s like, oh, I know that. I know that.

[18:57] But unless you have some kind of distinguishing mark on your face, it’s hard to pick up what a player looks like without his gear on. Yes. And you always think they’re way bigger than they really are, too. So you’re a little surprised that that they’re kind of normal size humans when you see them that’s a good point because you are normal size right but you think hockey players are just huge because they’re on skates but yeah it’s not like an nfo athlete yeah where that you see somebody thick yeah like okay he looks like an athlete or an nba guy yeah who’s six foot five and above that’s true you actually are the size of a normal human being that’s true exactly hockey and baseball players can you can you can sneak by you’d never even know that is so interesting okay Okay, so that leads me to my next fun fact. Fun fact number two. Per my research, Coach, it has been scientifically proven that Dan here is actually shorter than our mutual friend, Coach Brad Larson.

[19:49] Based on what science? Hey, when I talked to Coach, he said you have to trust the science on this. Don’t even question it, Dan. I can’t let him go first because this is what happens. He he puts all these snakes in your head you know these things that we’ve argued about since the beginning of time and now i have to retort which always gives it’s a weak position so i have to be more proactive in these things to get there first but i’m way taller than him especially now because i’ve actually got you’ve grown you’ve grown since last time okay yeah i’m like i want to get to six foot like manifesting it i’m talking to god he’s working on it so i think i’m close Okay. All right. I’ll let him know. Next time I talk to him, I’ll let him know. All right. Fun fact number three here. In 2008, Dan actually married into the McCarthy family. He married Amy, who was an actress at the time. Her sister was Jenny McCarthy. Their cousin is Melissa McCarthy. And his brother-in-law at one time was Jim Carrey. Oh, we got, there has to be a story about this. Do you have any stories from, I guess, being related to Jim Carrey?

[21:00] You know that was in his heyday right like that was every movie yes and so he was on top of the world so so i go to dinner at his place and i think it was malibu and it’s a it’s a compound i shouldn’t call it place come and and all i can do is like i’m talking to myself and i’m like okay just don’t movie quote him don’t do it don’t do it yes because that would be hard to do.

[21:25] Impossible because every movie that that he was in you’ve been quoting for the last 10 years yes you know with your buddies yes and and so it’s it’s just like you know hold it together don’t movie quote him like you’re not buddies with him yet and he was awesome like just the most down to earth guy really quick-witted as you would expect not the person you see in the movies all the time yeah like not crazy like that you can see how it could get there right like it’s in there but but he he was awesome and very intelligent and a lot you know and he had great he had he’s a big hockey fan too i didn’t know and he had this room and you walked in the room and it was all of his movie stuff like the the joker costume was here and oh my sure stuff was there and it was like oh my god try that movie quote in that room yeah no kidding you know and then right in the middle of it all right maybe it was hanging but there was goalie equipment and it was it was like Johnny Bauer’s original stuff, I think. And so that was really cool. But he was awesome. Can you tell Steph the story of him actually attending your wedding back then? Yeah. So the wedding was 50s themed, okay? And it was kind of like one of my teammates showed up as a Sasquatch. He’s like, Sasquatch was around in the 50s. You can’t do that. And I was like, perfect. You know what? Sure. Go with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so it was on a golf course. And no one knew he was wearing the set. Oh, no. Oh, yeah, like right through the fairway, all of a sudden you see Bigfoot. And everyone’s like, Bigfoot!

[22:51] And then he runs into the woods. I was like, oh, boy. That’s the crew I hung out with. That’s awesome. But he shows up to the ceremony in full Fidel Castro. Yes. Like, you couldn’t see it. He had the glasses, the low-brimmed hat, the big beard, the military outfit, like, front row. Try keeping a straight face when that’s sitting next, you know, like, waiting for a sight line. Yeah. You’re just Fidel Castro judging you with his glasses on, shaking his head. But he was great. and the athletes were very respectful and obviously a huge fan to his. So yeah, it was great. That’s funny. That’s awesome.

[23:33] Steph, what is one of the most asked questions we get about Tell Us a Good Story? Do I really get that excited? Besides that one. Oh, how do we get all these incredible guests? Correct. And some of our best conversations have been with guests who our listeners have reached out to us and said, you should talk to this person. To name just a few, Nick Vujicic, Coach Tom Ryan, Carol Matico, were all recommendations from our listeners. So if there’s someone you would like us to interview and think they might be a great fit for Tell Us a Good Story, please let us know at kevinandsteph.com. You don’t even have to personally know them. True, but do me a favor. Before you submit their names, please make sure they are still alive. That has actually happened and it is super hard for me to find their contact information. But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[24:20] Next fun fact. Dan here was the first player ever to be drafted by the NHL from West Point Academy. He went to the Military Academy. So, Dan, do you have any good stories from being at West Point? I have a million. And I always say this because it’s true, but I was there for just the first year. And then I got drafted and left. But the lessons that I learned in that first year, because that first year is a nightmare. I bet. Yes, culture shock. And then on purpose, I love that it was because you do need to weed out the people that can’t hang in, you know, because what they always tell you is once you leave there, you’re going to be in charge of other human beings. And if you make mistakes, these other human beings are going to get hurt. So we can’t afford weakness. We can’t afford lack of detail, et cetera. And so they pound that stuff into you. And so, you know, like there’s a lot of we live in a sensitive time. So hazing gets what it is. But sometimes it’s done in the right way. It’s necessary to build character. As long as, you know, like when I was there, the hazing was push-ups and sit-ups. Yeah, that’s different. It’s different, right? And I was a smart-ass. And I was an athlete. And I wasn’t going to let you break me. And I was prepared. Because my old man, the big chief.

[25:38] He was born in the 30s, right, in Florida, big Cherokee guy. And so I grew up under his care, right? And that was way harder than anything West Point can throw at you. And so I was ready. And so the hazing didn’t bother me. The push-ups I was prepared for, the sit-ups. What I found, like once you get to a certain level of push-ups, the hazing is no fun for the hazer because the rules then were they have to do it with you. Oh, really? Yeah. They’ll get down and give me 50. I’m like, okay, well, let’s go. And then at 50, they’re tired and you’re just starting. and they’re like okay that’s enough i hope you learned your lesson you know and then they would leave but the problem is was is you have a roommate and my and my roommates should get roped into all this because i had guys lined up out the door to haze me because oh my god i had done throughout the day or whatever things i said didn’t do and so i was i was yeah i and so i had to walk and when you get in trouble at west point they make you walk hours okay i think i had said i was close to a record that year for hours um you know so my time there was awesome because the attention to detail they teach you there will stay with you the rest of your life and as you guys know or any adult attention to detail is everything it is you know and especially coaching so so my time at west point was awesome i felt terrible for my roommate because i had two of them quit because seriously because they would they would get roped into my hazing right they’d They’d be like, oh, what are you doing? You come join us. And they were like, this guy, I can’t do it. I’m out.

[27:05] And so I felt terrible that they got roped in. It’s corporal punishment to be roommates with Dan back at West Point. Yeah, like everyone liked me except for my roommates.

[27:16] And the people hazing me. But the rest of my classmates I was okay with. Everybody else I’m cool with. So lots of walking. That’s what the guy I live with. Stuff. Lots of walking from Dan.

[27:30] Hey, I want to know, because I love working out. What was your, like, how far did you have to walk? Do you remember that year? Well it wasn’t that it was so far you just had to walk for an amount of time and in full uniform with your weapon oh like yeah you know it’s upstate new york heat yes humid or it’s upstate new york cold and it’s freezing in the winter like no let’s not lock them you know yeah and so the humidity that just bears on you but there’s an incentive to walking faster because there’s a guy that’s up there watching making sure everyone’s doing it and they’re doing it right because Cause there’s no talking. You have to do it upright, like all the details. And at the end of like an hour, they’ll blow the whistle. You get like a five minute break, get some water. And who they deem the hardest worker they’ll send home. Oh. And so I was always like, Oh, this time it’s going to be me. Meanwhile, I’m a freshman. I can’t, they would never, because it’s an upperclassman making the decision. So I’m drenched, your, your uniforms drenched, I’m drenched. And you know, the heat’s coming down on you and you got all your stuff on. And it’s just, each time you got in trouble, it was an hour. So I had lots of hours to walk so it’s like well I can get three hours in on Tuesday I got nothing going on I’m gonna batch this next punishment I’m gonna put them together this next one, Wednesday I got a full day I can get a bunch of hours in.

[28:50] So that was needless to say my time management wasn’t great because of that oh my gosh, All right, next fun fact. He already talked about this earlier. Okay. But I still, I’m sure there’s more stories. His first full season in the NHL resulted in him helping the Colorado Avalanche win their second Stanley Cup.

[29:10] So, first off, the Stanley Cup, Dan, hands down, the best trophy in professional sports. Totally. Like, that is hands down the coolest thing. But can you talk about the traditions? Because you mentioned this earlier. I believe everyone gets an opportunity to take the cup with them, right? Whether it’s to a wedding, to a party, to your hometown, to whatever. What are some of these stories you heard? I’m shocked these cups don’t get destroyed for what they go through. They do.

[29:37] Like, not destroyed because they’re so sacred. It’s so sacred. But you get enough people handling it. And there’s the thing. They have protectors that are always around it, as you know. And these guys, they take care of the cup. Cup for instance when i had it and i was lucky enough to get it a day early which was unbeknownst to me or anyone at my party so it was just a free day with three night with it uh he’s sleeping with me in the bed next because i got the cup like this and sleeping he’s on the other side of the cup like he’s oh there’s actually somebody who travels with it everywhere yeah yeah you’ve got white gloves you see him on every commercial those guys follow the cup there’s like i didn’t know that turns yeah going around with the cup and so my guy who was fantastic he’s laying in bed with me like on the other side i don’t know if that’s normal i don’t want to get him in trouble but that’s how like i think he knew like he can’t let it out of his sight with me so he was like i’m gonna sleep with this guy and so he did but anyway you know guys everyone tries to outdo each other and it all kind of there’s kind of a.

[30:40] Tough decision you got to make because you want to be unique right you want to be different because everyone wants to know what you did what you did with the cup okay right but you know a lot of us are from towns that you need to give back to yeah you got you know your mom’s family and your dad’s family and you know all the people that help you so you you want to be unique but you also have to take care of the family and the other people so everybody’s using it for uh you know some sort of food bowl there’s been babies in there puppies like you name it it’s been done guys have gone on scuba i think i saw it in a shark tank once oh my gosh deep deep sea diving you know there’s a big story about when the stars won it that it was at the bottom of the pool and that’s when it got because there’s you know there’s some dents in that thing as you can imagine i think i think the dallas guys were animals and i think they put a dent in it um at one of their parties or whatever but like you know it’s just such a cool trophy because when we won we got to take it around denver how long do you typically get it what’s normal just 24 hours per player you get 24 hours yeah okay and in that 24 hours you got to get all your stuff done and but i like i said i got a call i’m sitting so everybody’s at my house in minnesota waiting for the next day when i’m supposed to get it and i get this random number on my phone and i answer it which i never do and it’s the cup guy he’s like hey your trainer who was in saint cloud minnesota which is like 45 minutes only for me his family was done with it if you want it tonight i was like what of course i I want it tonight. I got a thousand people sitting here.

[32:04] So, so I’m not telling them that. So I’m like, Hey, who wants a dairy queen? You know, we get Elk River had a dairy queen.

[32:11] So I couldn’t think of a better plan. So I was like, Hey, cup guy, meet me at the dairy queen.

[32:16] And meanwhile, I’m like, Hey, everyone, you know, I got a lot of people that are like, no, I’m good. I’m like, no, you want ice cream to me. You want ice cream. I need ice cream. So everybody piled in to my Dodge Durango and, uh, pulled up to the dairy queen and there’s, there’s the limo and outside the limos well i won’t give his name but the cup guy okay and he’s sitting there with the white gloves, Also, they were like, no, losing their mind. And so I got it like that night. I wasn’t expecting it. So we took that down to Minneapolis, down to a bar. They had it all roped off because it’s Minnesota. And they only needed like three minutes, like warning. I’m like, hey, I’m bringing the cup. They’re like, cool, we’ll have a spot.

[32:53] It was like that. And anyways, it was so much fun. Can you imagine if you were the cup guy and the person that you were supposed to be with wanted to, you know, go shark diving? And you’re like man like you’re just like looking in the cage you’re like man how much do i want my job but steph everyone like dan said everyone is probably going to get worse and worse because you’re trying to outdo each other for the most part right so the longer he’s working the worse it’s getting for him is it the same guy there’s three and well there’s the same two have been doing it forever and i think they just added a woman who is now the third and so they then they they trade off and i don’t know that how it all works i just know that there’s multiple and they’re very protective as need to be and they got it like like you said an awesome life but you can imagine it’s not no it would not yes that is correct that’d be a tough gig yes it would if you like what you hear please tell someone about us as soon as this episode is over go tell your spouse your closest friend a parent a co-worker or share one of our posts on social media however if you you don’t like what you’re hearing, please do not. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell anybody. Just disregard this message. Don’t worry about it. Forget about us. Yep. Go on with your merry day. And to get more information about us or our entire catalog of episodes, be sure to check us out at kevinandsteph.com. Thank you for listening to tell us a good story.

[34:19] All right. Final fun fact about Coach Dan here. Before accepting the job to coach in the AHL with the avalanches minor league team the colorado eagles he was with the nashville predators as an assistant coach so you have been kind of all over the map here from assistant coach in the nhl now the ahl what are you looking forward to right because now you’re going to be coaching a completely different level players younger guys what are you looking forward i guess in this next transition of your career coach so i’ve been doing this for about 10 years now coaching and And what I’ve realized is I want to help. I just want to help the boys. Because what happens is all these guys, they play hockey. That’s it. They just play hockey. You show up. That’s been your life. It’s your identity. That’s your focus. Like you have very little skills elsewhere unless somebody forces you to kind of develop those skills, right? Whether it’s life or your parents or maybe a coach. And so guys struggle with a lot of things when they retire, when they’re done, because they don’t know anything else. I bet and so my passion is because I made every mistake you could make and.

[35:27] Is I want to make sure they don’t make the same mistakes I made. I want to make sure that when they’re done, they can live a successful, happy life without having to go through all the stupid things I did. And so that’s what I want to do. I want to develop the human.

[35:42] I want to give them the foundation that they’re going to need after hockey, too.

[35:45] So that’s how I came to the decision to go coaching Colorado’s minor team is because they haven’t, like you just said, the entire team needs that. Yes you know in pro you only have maybe three or four guys that aren’t married kids making 10 million dollars a year you know what i mean like guys are kind of they’ve made it but in the minors it’s everybody and to me that i’m so excited because i have a full team of guys that need this and that’s my passion so getting the opportunity to go coach was a decision that my wife and i made after we discussed kind of why why we do this job in the first place and you know the cool thing thing about winning early in my career is you realize there’s a lot more to it than just winning and you know i got the ring my name’s on the cup but then after it’s like okay but what’s next well what’s next is i get to tell my story you know kind of like this but i tell it to them and all the hardships i went through and they’re like oh my god that’s what happened and that’s what happened you know like like i went through bankruptcy i’ve you know i’ve been divorced like i’ve i’ve been through the ringer i was for a while i was going door to door for at&t selling cable really after after yeah you know when i was going through all my stuff just to make ends meet you know which is great for you it’s awesome for you because once you get to the bottom that’s when you you start doing the work right that’s when you start to go okay i got things i gotta change so i’m very excited that’s a great point because you wouldn’t have retired from playing until early mid 30s so the biggest thing is when athletes professional athletes it’s It’s no longer there. You’re done.

[37:13] I can see where a lot of people, their identities are wrapped up. That’s all they know where they could fall into depression. They could fall into a lot of scary stuff because that’s all they know. That’s all they’ve done. And now my life is completely different.

[37:26] With you, I guess, once it stopped, once it ended, what was the toughest challenge then once it’s over? The hardest part is ego death, right? You’re not important. And you never were, but you thought you were. And you might have been to a city, you know, to a sports fan or whatever. But in the grand scheme of things, you realize like the organization, they’re done with you once you’re no longer a viable. It’s a business, right? And that’s hard to swallow because there’s a lot of sacrifice that goes into playing hockey or any sport. And so you kind of, in your heart of hearts, you expect the team’s going to take care of you. But it’s hard to swallow that. And that’s your identity. And when you’re walking down the street, as soon as you retire, you’re not really important to the fans anymore. Like, you’re a good memory. Yeah. But they’re more worried about the team next year. Which is also, again, that’s your ego. And what you realize is that people had been taking care of you, you know, from 15 to whenever you retire. Now you’re on your own. And you have very little skills, real life skills. I was writing my resume and putting it on Indeed when I was going through that stuff. And we realized it’s all intangibles. And I got nobody on Indeed.

[38:39] I sent it everywhere, got nothing. Wow. And it was really eye-opening for me because I don’t want to let that happen to these guys. These guys, when they’re done, and a lot of players are going to have to work because you make money, but you don’t make retirement money. Yeah. And players need to have the skills to do something when they’re done because not everybody gets to stay in hockey as a coach. Not everybody gets to jump into the broadcast booth. So what are you going to do?

[39:03] It’s a wake-up call. You’re not getting paid. You’re not important to the city. You’re not important to a team. like the guys you spent every waking hour with are gone and you’re alone and you’re and if you haven’t done a good job with your relationship the resentment has built up over the course of a career because you’ve been gone and she has done all the work yeah if you haven’t been a good communicator if you haven’t been a good partner that all comes to fruition and it’s something like 75 divorce rate oh seriously when you’re yeah it’s crazy but that’s why because Because these guys got to go through ego death. And now when you come out the other side, you might not be the same person she married, right? Neither of you are. Because if you got together during hockey, you’re at charity events. You’re at balls. You’re doing all these things. And all of a sudden, boom, gone. And you have to start over. Who am I now? She might not like the person you are now because she knows the other person. Today, before this podcast, I got a text from a player I used to coach in Columbus. And he lives here in Nashville. Nashville and I went and had coffee with him for an hour and a half, just talking about stuff because he’s going through divorce.

[40:10] He’s going through a bunch of hard stuff and he knows, he knows I’ve been through it. So he knew I was in town, called me, we sipped a coffee. That’s why I do this job. After that talk, he and I were, we’re hugging and you know, he’s feeling great. I’m feeling great. He’s going to the next step on his life. and that’s why I coach.

[40:30] Wow. That is so good. Well, coach, I can’t thank you enough for your time here. I knew we were going to have a fun conversation, but this was so good. Oh, so much fun. Well worth the wait, coach. Yes. Well worth the wait six months here to have this conversation with you. So thank you so much for saying yes to us. What you’re doing is awesome and I love you guys. I love what you do and I’m so grateful. So thanks for having me on. Friends we want to encourage you to please follow us wherever you listen to this whether it’s on the apple podcast app iheart radio spotify or one of the other platforms you guys it’s completely free and while you’re there feel free to give us a rating or a nice review thank you for listening to tell us a good story.