Danton Cole - Men's Ice Hockey Coach - Michigan State University Athletics

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell

Danton Cole

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
hockey@msu.edu
Phone:
355-1639

Danton Cole, a coaching veteran with international, professional and collegiate experience, was appointed head coach of the Michigan State hockey program on April 11, 2017. He enters his fifth season behind the Spartan bench in 2021-22 and his 21st season overall as a head coach. Over Cole’s career he has coached 105 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League and has amassed over 500 victories.

Cole, who was a key member of some of the most successful Spartan hockey teams in program history, came to Michigan State from USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program where he mentored some of the nation’s top young players on the U-17 and U-18 teams for seven seasons.

Under Cole’s guidance, the Spartan program has gained significant momentum in all facets over his four seasons. On the ice, MSU increased its Big Ten win and point totals in three consecutive years. Average attendance at Munn Ice Arena, which is undergoing a $26.2 million expansion, also increased in each of Cole’s three seasons (no fans were permitted in Munn in 2020-21). In the classroom, the four highest semester and cumulative team GPAs in program history have all come under Cole.

Cole was able to help direct the continuation of the transformational Munn Arena expansion project in 2020-21. Construction on the exterior of the Munn addition was completed in the fall of 2021, while interior construction later resumed, putting the project on pace to be completed in its entirety in 2022.

In the shortened 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spartans had a pair of players garner All-Big Ten honors in Dennis Cesana and Drew DeRidder. MSU has had at least two players voted to the All-Big Ten team in each season under Cole.

Academically, the Spartans posted record team GPAs in 2020-21. The Spartans’ cumulative team GPA of 3.406 through spring 2021 was the highest in program history, while the fall semester team GPA of 3.679 was the highest semester team GPA in program history. The Spartans had a Big Ten-high 12 players garner AHCA All-American Scholar accolades and a program-best eight Spartans earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar accolades.

The Spartans spent much of the 2019-20 season ranked in the top 20 nationally and their 11 conference wins were the second most in the league as MSU finished just six points out of first place. For the third consecutive year, MSU’s strength of schedule ranked in the top five in the nation and the Spartans posted their most victories – 15 – since 2014-15.

MSU boasted five All-Big Ten honorees, including Patrick Khodorenko, who was named to the first team. Following the season, Khodorenko (New York Rangers) and fellow all-conference selection Jerad Rosburg (Dallas Stars) both signed NHL entry-level contracts.

Inside Munn, MSU posted its best average attendance – 5,939 – since 2003-04, which ranked sixth in the nation.

Year two of the Cole era saw the Spartans up both their Big Ten win and point total over the previous season. The Spartans posted a winning record at home for the second straight year and were also above .500 against conference foes at Munn Ice Arena, which again ranked in the top 10 nationally in attendance. Half of the Spartans’ victories on the season came against top-15 opponents, which included a road sweep of No. 8 Cornell.

The Spartans’ continued progress under Cole was furthered by Taro Hirose, who turned in one of the best seasons by a Spartan since 2000. Hirose tied for the national lead in points and ranked second in assists en route to being named Big Ten Player of the Year, a First Team All-American and a Hobey Baker Award finalist. The Big Ten scoring champion signed an entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings following the season, becoming the 100^th player coached by Cole to reach the NHL.

Hirose was one of a program-record six Spartans to earn All-Big Ten accolades.

With the fourth-youngest roster in the nation that included just three seniors and 19 underclassmen, Cole facilitated progress in all facets of the Spartan program during his first season behind the bench in 2017-18. With five wins against ranked opponents, including three vs. top-10 teams, the Spartans improved their win total over the previous season against a schedule that ranked fifth-toughest in the country. In posting a winning record at home, including going undefeated against non-conference teams, the Spartans were rewarded with strong home crowds as Munn Ice Arena ranked 10^th nationally in average home attendance during the season.

The young Spartan roster was bolstered by the program’s high-scoring trio of Hirose, Patrick Khodorenko and Mitchell Lewandowski. Lewandowski became the first Spartan since 2006 to be named a conference rookie of the year as he was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

In the classroom, the Spartans have produced a total of 50 Academic All-Big Ten honors over Cole’s tenure, including a program record 17 honorees in 2019-20. In the six semesters of Cole’s tenure, the Spartans have produced four of the 10 highest team GPAs in program history. The Spartans’ 3.263 in the spring of 2020 was the second best team GPA in program history.

Under Cole’s leadership of the program, Munn Ice Arena is currently undergoing a $24 million renovation. The expansion project on the south side of the arena will provide the Spartans with completely new team accommodations, including dressing room, weight room, video room, offices and players’ lounge, among other amenities.

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Prior to returning to Michigan State as the seventh head coach in program history, Cole’s highly-successful run with USA Hockey included guiding the U.S. to two gold medals (2012, 2014) and one bronze medal (2016) at the International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s Under-18 World Championship and three top-three finishes at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (2011, 2013, 2014), the top events in each age group.

His teams also enjoyed success in numerous international tournaments, having captured U17 titles at the Four Nations (2010, 2012) and Vlad Dzurilla (2011) tournaments. While leading the U18s, the U.S. has placed first on three occasions in major competitions: twice at the Four Nations (2011, 2015) and once at Five Nations (2014) tournaments.

Cole’s first taste of international coaching came with the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, where he served as assistant coach. He assumed that same role in 2013 for the bronze-medal winning U.S. Men’s National Team at the IIHF Men’s World Championship.

Cole’s coaching career started immediately following his playing days. After retiring from the Grand Rapids Griffins in 1999-2000, he remained with the team for the season as an assistant before spending 2001-02 with Muskegon in the United Hockey League, guiding the team to the playoff championship.

Cole followed that with a nearly three-year stint as head coach of the Griffins which included two Calder Cup Playoff appearances in 2003 and 2004. After coaching the UHL’s Motor City Mechanics through 2006, he amassed a five-year pro coaching record of 222-126-17 (.632).

In 2006-07, Cole landed his first college job as an assistant at Bowling Green. After one year at BGSU, he was hired as head coach at Alabama-Huntsville where he went 23-59-12 in three seasons. He led UAH to the College Hockey America tournament title in his third season with the school in 2009-10, earning the program’s second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament, before moving on to USA Hockey in 2010.

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Cole’s playing career at MSU began in 1985-86 as he helped further the Spartans’ trek to sustained national prominence. In his four years at Michigan State, the Spartans went 131-44-8 (.738), winning a NCAA National Championship (1986), making three NCAA Frozen Four appearances (1986, 1987, 1989), capturing two CCHA regular-season titles (1986, 1989) and two CCHA Tournament championships (1987, 1989).

As a junior at MSU, Cole was second in team scoring with 20 goals and 56 points, and then was the third-highest scorer as a senior with 29 goals and 62 points.

Cole, who was the recipient of the Distinguished Spartan Award in 2013, ended his Michigan State career with 69 goals and 94 assists for 163 points. He shares the MSU career games played record of 180 with former teammate Don McSween.

Cole graduated with a degree in finance and excelled in the classroom at MSU as he was a three-time CCHA All-Academic Team honoree. He is one of nine Spartan hockey players to have received the Big Ten Medal of Honor, garnering the accolade as a senior.

Cole was drafted in the sixth round, 123^rd overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. After making his pro debut with the AHL’s Moncton Hawks in 1989-90, Cole saw his first action in the NHL that season as well, recording two points in two games for the Jets.

Cole went on to play 11 seasons professionally. He played 318 NHL games over six seasons with Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, New Jersey, the New York Islanders and Chicago.

His best season in the NHL came in 1993-94 when he put up 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points in 81 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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He is one of 15 Spartans to have hoisted the Stanley Cup as he helped the New Jersey Devils to the 1995 Cup.

Cole played four more seasons in the IHL for the Grand Rapids Griffins before retiring with the team in 1999-2000.

He represented the USA as a member of the Men’s National Team on three occasions (1990, 1991, 1994) and earned outstanding player of the 1991 IIHF Men’s World Championship.

A native Michigander, Cole was born in Pontiac and raised in Lansing. He played youth hockey around the state and then in the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 1984-85, recording 95 points in 41 games.

He graduated from Waverly High School, where he was a two-time all-league baseball selection, playing alongside Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz.

Cole, 54, and his wife Debbie, a Lansing native, have three daughters - Ashton, Madeleine and Payton.