Hinote Leans On Experience, Energy Behind Preds Bench

The Predators are in the thick of a postseason race as they enter the final month of the regular season, and while there are plenty responsible for the team's success, Dan Hinote flies under the radar more than most.
Hinote is in his second season as an assistant coach with Nashville after being brought on in 2020 by Head Coach John Hynes. Not only has he had a successful coaching career thus far, but Hinote's experience has been built upon a strong foundation as a player and a Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche back in 2001.

"It's so much fun to coach this team]," Hinote said on a recent episode of the Preds Official Podcast. "It's just a great group of guys. They really like each other, and they battle so hard against each other, which I think is why they're so tight."
The Predators are in the midst of their postseason push, and each game is tougher than the last. Having a solid, physical group is more important than ever, and Nashville's roster being coachable is one of the main factors as to why they've had success with regularity.
"We have a really good mix of young and old, but games 60 to 80 are tough right here," Hinote said. "There's no light at the end of the tunnel anymore. There's no Christmas break on the horizon, no All-Star break. It's a grind, and you're usually playing 15 games a month, if not more. So, there's very little practice, and you just wake up and play, wake up and play, wake up and play. These games get harder and harder as… guys and teams are ramping up for the playoffs… I love this team because of the characters on this team. They're really good human beings."
Hinote knows better than anyone that life can take a turn at any moment. Originally, he went to the Army Academy at West Point with the dream of becoming an FBI agent, but instead, that path ultimately led him down a road to hockey.
"Hockey was never my intent," Hinote said. "I went to West Point because I wanted to go to a good school that I didn't want my parents to pay for. I wanted to play hockey, but I really just wanted to go into the FBI, and then of course you go to probably the best school to do so. Then I get drafted [to the NHL] from there. My dad's like, 'You can try and get out of it, but you're going to the NHL.' Randomly it just worked out."
Every coach is committed, but Hinote took that to a new level at the start of the season. On the first day of Predators training camp, a collision with defenseman Dante Fabbro ended with a high stick to the head - and a willingness to literally shed blood for his team.
"I'm trying to figure out where I'm putting the pucks - which is the most important job as an assistant coach," Hinote laughed. "And so I skate up to Hynes, and he's in the middle of training camp, he doesn't have time to see what's going on with his coaches, and I'm like, 'Hey, where do you want the pucks?' And I started bleeding - just blood right down my face. He's like, 'What is wrong with you? Could you go stop bleeding somewhere else.'"
Just like training camp, every season has its highs and lows, but it's all about how each individual finds their way through. That's what Hinote loves the most about not only his life, but career.
"I'm a happy guy," Hinote said. "What do I have to be sad about, right? I'm coaching in Nashville, I've got a great coaching staff, great players, great city and great fans. I'm head over heels in love with my girl. There's just no reason not to be energetic and happy every day."
[Click here to listen to Dan Hinote's full interview
on Episode 166 of the Preds Official Podcast.