Mike Danton

​Michael Stephen Jefferson, now known as Mike Danton, was born on October 21, 1980, in Brampton, Ontario. Many hockey heroes have interesting stories, Danton’s however is like no other. Danton’s father Steve Jefferson was extremely violent and abusive throughout Danton’s upbringing. “If I scored once, I’d come home and get beat because I should’ve scored twice. If I scored twice, I’d come home and get beat because I should’ve scored three times. It was never good enough.” Mike Danton explained. Quickly distancing himself from his father, the hockey star became very close with his coach ‘David Frost’. After spending augmented time together, Frost acted as a mentor to Danton and then became his agent. After an impressive junior hockey career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Danton was drafted 135th overall in the NHL to the New Jersey Devils. After playing professional hockey for a few years, Danton felt the need to disassociate himself from the Jefferson’s. In 2002, he decided to change his name and soon after becoming a Danton, he was traded from New Jersey to St. Louis where he played through the 2003-2004 season. Progressively, the professional athlete began to hate hockey; his childhood stuck with him, and decisions were made that ultimately changed Danton’s life. On April 16, 2004, two days after the Blues were eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Danton was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire. On July 16, 2004, Danton pleaded guilty to attempting to hire a hitman to kill whoever was in his apartment. The grey area remains as Danton served nearly six years in jail & after being released, he was fortunately accepted to Saint Mary’s University. Danton not only brought their hockey team to a CIS National Championship but also graduated with a 4.17 GPA majoring in Psychology and Criminology. Now, Danton is the father of 3 young children and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his wife and travels to Fredericton, New Brunswick weekly to attend UNB for his Masters in Sports Psychology. Mike Danton is very courageous & has a purpose to help people who struggling mentally before they make a life altering decision. #WhatsYourJourney