When Mike Danton arrived at Saint Mary鈥檚 in 2010, he was in need of a second chance: 29 years old, he had only a high-school education, no career, and had spent the previous five years in a U.S. prison.
Six years prior, Danton was a rising NHL star with four seasons under his belt, first with the New Jersey Devils and later with the St. Louis Blues. But in 2004, he pled guilty to a serious crime and served 63 months, mostly at a U.S. federal prison in Minnesota. He was a model prisoner, taking correspondence courses from Queen鈥檚 University, and was transferred in 2009 to a Canadian facility near Kingston, Ontario, before being granted parole later that year.
Upon his release, Danton was living in a friend鈥檚 Toronto condo. He had no idea, he says, 鈥渋f anyone would want me鈥攊n any way, for anything, ever again.鈥� But weeks after his release, he started to get calls from Canadian universities interested in recruiting him.
鈥淢ost of them seemed interested because of what I used to be,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淏ut Saint Mary鈥檚 seemed truly interested in giving me that second chance; Stieny [head hockey coach Trevor Stienberg] wasn鈥檛 sure that I鈥檇 even be able to play. But he said, 鈥楥ome, help with the team, be involved, and you鈥檒l get an education.
鈥淚鈥檒l be 36 this year. I started skating when I was three, and playing when I was five. I have 27 years invested in this sport... I can鈥檛 just walk away.鈥�
When he arrived on campus, Danton was more than a decade older than most classmates. After so long out of school he had to 鈥渓earn all over again how to study,鈥� becoming a frequent, solitary fixture in the Patrick Power Library.
Danton chose a double major in Psychology and Criminology, in part because of his experiences in prison, where he worked closely with a clinical psychiatrist and a psychologist, who helped him explore his childhood (鈥渢he worst you can imagine,鈥� he says). 鈥淲hen I was locked up I knew I had issues,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he psychiatrist helped me get in touch with a different way of thinking鈥reviously I had been extremely impulsive and barely thought of repercussions. Working with him I became a lot more thoughtful and careful. The change in my personality was incredible.鈥�
Psychology professor Dr. Lucie Kocum recalls the first time she became aware of Danton鈥攚atching news of his arrival at Saint Mary鈥檚 on television news, from her then-home in Ottawa, just before she moved to Halifax to begin teaching.
鈥淚 had some pride then I鈥檇 chosen a good place to teach, a university that provides opportunities to those who need them.鈥� She didn鈥檛 think of Danton again, until he showed up in her Research Methods class. 鈥淗is contributions were always lively,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to suggest he was a class clown, but there was very good humour. But he was always striving for high achievement.鈥�
A look at Danton鈥檚 record shows that. He played two seasons with the Huskies, part of the team that won a national championship in 2010鈥攖he first time the school had won. In 2010 and 2011 he was named an Academic All-Canadian, with a GPA of 3.9. In 2011, he embarked on a European career that saw him studying remotely while playing in Sweden, Kazakhstan, Poland, and elsewhere. In 2015 he married his girlfriend Nancy, with whom he now has two children. In 2016, he graduated summa cum laude.
Today, Danton is planning on doctoral studies in psychology. He鈥檇 like to work with athletes troubled by drugs, injuries, and depression. When he was released from prison, his own life experiences were virtually all Danton had to draw on. He鈥檚 鈥渆arning the academic background, and [has] the professional ambition,鈥� to put those experiences to work to help others.
鈥淚鈥檒l be 36 this year,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 started skating when I was three, and playing when I was five. I have 27 years invested in this sport. That鈥檚 more than any accountant or lawyer or professional my age has in their field. I can鈥檛 just walk away.鈥�