• Mike Danton considered his agent, David Frost, as a father figure.
• Danton was placed in jail for hiring a hitman to kill David Frost.
• Frost was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation.
• Frost was arrested for using Mike Danton’s credit card to pay a gas bill.
• Frost was told to stay away from the Phoenix Coyotes training camp and Adam Keefe, who’s brother was once represented by Frost.
• Danton’s attorney was charged with unauthorized practice of law.
• Frost was cleared of  the sexual exploitation charges.
• Prison officials described Danton as a “model inmate” and “an incredible asset.”

And now, Danton has been granted full parole, as SportsAgentBlog.com columnist Ryan Ballard expected.  But much more interesting than the news that Danton was granted full parole is what he admitted last week.  Danton intended to kill his father, not David Frost.  A weird twist of events would lead the hit man Danton hired to focus on Frost, though, which was never Danton’s objective.  Danton thought that the hit man would target Danton’s father instead.

Mike Danton

Danton made it to the National Hockey League after a few average seasons in the Ontario Hockey League.  He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2000 following a stand-out season in his final year of major junior.  Although Danton did garner 87 points in 58 games in his final year of major junior, he knew his role on the ice: a tough guy grinder who was crucial to his team’s momentum on the ice.  Danton excelled in his first season of professional hockey in the American Hockey League, so it’s no surprise his mix of grit and goal-scoring potential found him a spot on an NHL roster.  His last season of hockey was in 2003-2004 with the St. Louis Blues, still just 23 years old.  He was an important role player for the Blues as evidenced by this scrap with the Too Too Train (ew) (you’ll notice Danton go nuts at the end because, big surprise, Tootoo throws a cheap shot).

It would be easy to say the house of cards began to fall when he was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot to kill Frost, but I think it started far earlier than that.  A mix of a weak family structure and strong manipulation by Frost resulted in Frost gaining control of Danton’s life in a way that had an extremely detrimental psychological effect on Danton.  Just four years after being drafted into the NHL, Danton found himself in U.S. federal prison.

This is where the story begins to turn around though.  Just like he was on the ice, Danton is fighting to get his life back on track.  The Calgary Herald documented his time in prison.  Prison officials described him as a “model inmate” and “an incredible asset.”  Assuming Ontario grants him full parole, I’m not sure what to expect.  He’s made it clear that he wants return to hockey.  But there’s only one reason I’m worried for Danton in his journey back to the ice: Frost’s presence.  The very fact that Frost is commenting publicly on Danton’s return is concerning.  The Herald story quotes Frost: “Frost said Tuesday night he fully supports Danton, who he said is ‘anxious to get his career back on track.’”  And Danton seems to allude to Frost by saying, “I’ve worked really hard on being the best I can be, but, in actuality, this (prison) is detrimental for me. I’m away from my support network, and here I am in a place where your only connections are criminal.”  One can only hope said support network Danton refers to isn’t Frost.  There isn’t much more that can be said about Frost’s status as an agent.  He isn’t even allowed at Phoenix’s facilities anymore.  Let’s hope Danton, and all young hockey players, steer clear of Frost.

Frost was a tough coach, known to swear at and degrade his players.  He would throw sticks at them. He dumped garbage on one player and pushed and punched Mr. [Mike] Danton.

Based on reputation, his character seems questionable, acquittal or not.  And whether or not he actually committed sexual exploitation, do you really want your son represented by a guy who was involved in threesomes with the players he coaches and their girlfriends?  Lawyers are not even permitted to have sexual relations with their own clients.  With your own players?  Oy vey.

David Frost was not killed by Danton.  Frost is a defendant in a case which charges him with twelve counts of sexual exploitation and one count of assault, though.  Additionally, Frost was arrested for using Danton’s credit card to purchase gas.  Imagine a man takes you into his life as a fatherly figure and agent, you try to kill him, and then he uses your credit card to buy gas without permission.  If Danton’s head was not on straight by this point, what is he thinking now that the lawyer who represented him in his case dealing with the murder-for-hire plot of Frost is being charged with unauthorized practice of law?

Howard Kieffer was apparently allowed to practice law in North Dakota’s federal courts, but never served as an attorney in a North Dakota state.  It is hard to use your good standing in a state where you never actually practiced law to get clearance to practice in others.  He also never graduated from law school.

It seems like no matter who you are, if you are somehow in Mike Danton’s circle, you are bound to end up in trouble.

The agent discussed in the preceding paragraph is David Frost, and he has been told to stay away from the Phoenix Coyotes training camp and Adam Keefe, who’s brother was once represented by Frost.  The Coyotes organization has put out the word plain and clear: If Keefe is in any way connected to Frost, he will no longer be of interested to the Coyotes.  No matter how angry the Pittsburgh Pirates organization may be with Scott Boras after the recent Pedro Alvarez dealings, I doubt that the club would ever blackball Boras in the way that the Coyotes have shunned Frost.

Even if Frost were allowed to go to training camp and talk to potential youngsters looking for representation, who in their right mind would hire a guy that has such a shady past and still has criminal charges pending?