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33-741: The Thunder filled a gap left since 1998 in the Deseronto community. The Quinte Hawks of the Metro Junior A Hockey League left a troubled legacy in the town of Deseronto. The team moved to Bancroft, Ontario after the Metro folded in 1998. In early 2006, it became quite apparent that hockey was coming back to the town. As a member of the new renegade GMHL, the Thunder hope to bring junior hockey back to Deseronto for good. The Deseronto Thunder's first ever game took place on September 9, 2006 against

66-507: A conspiracy to commit murder . He was released on parole on September 11, 2009 after 63 months in jail, the original sentence being 90 months. After being released from prison, he resumed his professional ice hockey career in various European leagues and in North America. Danton was known as Mike Jefferson during his junior hockey career. As a youth, Jefferson played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with

99-476: A 3.9 GPA overall through the winter and spring semesters as well as summer school, and it was revealed in a media story that his study ethic keeps him in the Patrick Power Library at Saint Mary's until 11pm each night. On July 28, 2011, Danton announced on his Twitter account that he had signed with a Swedish professional club for the 2011–12 season. The following day, this was confirmed to be

132-445: A hard hit, Bengtsson's head struck the ice, and he started convulsing. Danton waited for his teammate's mouth to release before using his hand to prevent Bengtsson from choking on his own tongue. Ore won the game 4–3 against Söderhamn/Ljusne HC . Playing in 27 games, Danton scored 16 goals and 25 assists for a total of 41 points. On December 17, 2011, following Ore's failure to reach the spring series called "Allettan", Orli Znojmo of

165-679: A leave from the Ontario Hockey Association . In the summer of 2008, a group of Toronto -based businessmen bought the rights to the Bancroft franchise, renamed the team the Upper Canada Hockey Club and moved the team to the North York district of Toronto. The club had a working relationship with Upper Canada College but was not directly affiliated. Despite owning the franchise that used to be

198-615: A semi-final and the winners to the championship game. MetJHL Years Mike Danton Michael Sage Danton ( né Jefferson , October 21, 1980) is a Canadian-Polish former professional ice hockey player who last played for Rivière-du-Loup 3L in the LNAH . Danton played for the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League between 2000 and 2004, before being imprisoned for

231-451: A taped telephone call Danton made to Frost a week after his arrest. In it, Frost instructs Danton to plead guilty and ends the conversation demanding Danton say "I love you," which Danton does, further fueling speculation of a homosexual relationship between the two. In 2006, Frost was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation related to acts on three females and four young boys between the ages of 14 and 16, alleged to have occurred during

264-564: The Division 1 club IFK Ore . The club explained that "We're obviously aware of his background but it was years ago". The club further explained that Danton's playing knowledge was the reason why the club chose to acquire him. The club made him team captain upon his arrival in Sweden. On September 18, 2011, while playing his first game for Ore, Danton saved teammate and linemate Marcus Bengtsson's life using skills he learned in prison. Following

297-719: The Dudley Hewitt Cup tournament but were eventually eliminated by the Fort Frances Lakers. Central Canada Championships Winners of the NOJHL , OJHL , SIJHL , and host Round-robin play with 2nd vs. 3rd in semi-final to advance against 1st in the championship game. Canadian Junior A National Championship Dudley Hewitt Champions – Central , Fred Page Champions – Eastern , Western Canada Cup Champions – Western , Western Canada Cup – Runners-up and host Round-robin play with top four advance to

330-693: The Erste Bank Eishockey Liga announced their signing of Danton. He spent the remainder of the season with the South Moravian club. On May 20, 2012, Coventry Blaze of the Elite Ice Hockey League announced their signing of Danton, although his place at the club was brought to an abrupt end due to the UK Border Agency twice rejecting his application for a UK entry visa. On September 29, 2012, after

363-594: The Metro Junior A Hockey League folded and merged with the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League . The Hawks moved into the OPJHL but were relocated to Bancroft, Ontario . In nine seasons, the Bancroft Hawks would never celebrate a winning season. In 2007, due to mounting troubles with finding appropriate ownership and supporting the team financially, the Bancroft Hawks were granted

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396-805: The Ontario Hockey League and later refused to shake Richards' hand after he had been named tournament MVP. Selected 135th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft , Danton was a left winger for the St. Louis Blues, who traded a 3rd round draft pick to New Jersey to obtain him. He played 68 games for the Blues in the 2003–04 season. While with the Devils organization, he changed his last name from Jefferson to Danton after becoming estranged from his family. He admitted he adopted

429-623: The South Muskoka Shield in Deseronto, Ontario . The Thunder were victorious, romping the Shield by a score of 8-1. The first goal scored in Thunder history was scored by Mitchell Wood. Brad Mallen picked up the historical first victory in net. So far, the 2006-07 season has drawn an enthusiastic response from the Deseronto community. Large crowds have been attending the games. The Thunder have been putting up decent results. At

462-531: The Christmas break of the 2006-07 season, the Thunder are sitting at a slightly better than .500 record and are looking good for a decent playoff seed at this point. On January 21, 2007, the Thunder ended the Bradford Rattlers record 31 game streak of games without a regulation loss with a 6-5 victory. The Thunder finished the 2006-07 season in fourth place. They drew the South Muskoka Shield in

495-798: The Hawks, no member of the UCHC was involved with the manifestations of the franchise in either Deseronto or Bancroft. The Upper Canada Hockey Club's first game was an 8-5 loss to the Seguin Bruins on September 6, 2008. The team's first win was at home against the Villanova Knights , 5-4 on September 14, 2008. In 2009, the team changed their name to the Patriots and moved to the Etobicoke district of Toronto. Two seasons later they became

528-716: The MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown . On March 28, 2010, the Huskies defeated the Alberta Golden Bears to win the 2010 University Cup , played in Thunder Bay, Ontario . It was announced by Canadian Interuniversity Sport on October 4, 2010 that Danton had been named an Academic All-Canadian based on a student CIS athlete achieving a grade point average of 3.7 or higher. Danton achieved

561-557: The Moscow Selects All-star team in an exhibition game. The Selects won the game by a score of 7-1. This was the seventh and final game that the Moscow team played against different GMJHL clubs. The Bradford Rattlers were at a 28-game streak of games without a regulation loss (from the start of a season) on January 6, 2008, closing in on their record of 31. For the second season in a row Deseronto dug their heals into

594-535: The South Muskoka Shield in the 2009 Russell Cup Finals. The Storm lost to the Shield in 6 games. Bancroft Hawks The Toronto Patriots are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Toronto , Ontario , Canada. They are a part of Ontario Junior Hockey League . In 1996, the Quinte Hawks of Deseronto, Ontario were granted expansion into the Metro Junior A Hockey League . David Frost

627-790: The Thunders first trip to the playoffs with a 4-games-to-2 series win. The Rattlers went on to win the Russell Cup as league champions and the Alliance Cup as NJHA champions. On June 10, 2007, it was announced that the Deseronto Thunder would not be returning to the GMHL. The Thunder became the first team in GMHL history to fold. Despite having some of the best crowds in the GMHL, the Thunder seemed to have suffered from financial difficulties. Many players were traded away before

660-750: The Toronto Lakeshore Patriots. In 2011, the Patriots had their best season yet when they finished third in the South Division and made it to the Conference Final, eventually losing to the Whitby Fury . In 2014, the team dropped "Lakeshore" from its name. That season, the team won the Buckland Cup and Dudley Hewitt Cup . In 2015, the Patriots won the Buckland Cup for the second consecutive year. They advanced to

693-863: The Toronto Young Nationals minor ice hockey team. He began junior hockey in the 1996–97 season with the Quinte Hawks of the Metro Junior A Hockey League. He played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1997 to 2000 with the Sarnia Sting , the Toronto St. Michael's Majors , and the Barrie Colts . Playing for the Colts during the 2000 Memorial Cup , Jefferson commented that Brad Richards would not last five games in

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726-1003: The United States Bureau of Prisons granted Danton's request to be transferred to a Canadian prison after five years at FCI Sandstone ; he was housed at the Pittsburgh Institution in Joyceville, Ontario . Under Canadian law, Danton was eligible for parole , which was granted on September 11, 2009. Conditions of his parole include no contact with his father (who Danton now claims was the intended target), and no face-to-face meetings with Frost (widely believed to be Danton's actual target). Danton took university correspondence courses at Queen's University while imprisoned. In fall 2009 he applied to Saint Mary's University in Halifax , Nova Scotia for January 2010 entry. Danton initially enrolled in three courses for

759-577: The announcement, but with the folding all carded players were officially released. On June 15, 2007, GMJHL President Bob Russell announced that the ownership of the team had been transferred to the Town of Deseronto and that the team will return in 2007-08, but under a new name. In late June, it was announced that the team would now be called the Deseronto Storm. On January 1, 2008, the Storm hosted

792-464: The card. In July 2008, in an article in the Denver Post , it was revealed that Howard Kieffer, the lawyer who represented Danton in his murder conspiracy case, had never graduated from law school, and so was not licensed to practice law. In September 2008, Kieffer pleaded not guilty to two felony charges, and news reports revealed that he would not be representing himself. On March 19, 2009,

825-866: The departure of defenseman Dean Moore and forward Bill Keenan to IF Sundsvall of HockeyAllsvenskan , Kramfors-Alliansen of the Swedish Division 1 league signed Danton to a one-year contract. On January 9, 2013, Danton signed a contract with the HC ’05 Banská Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga . He then started the 2013–14 season playing for Beibarys Atyrau in Kazakhstan . After complaining about breaches in his contract, he had it terminated and moved to HSC Csíkszereda in Romania . On January 24, 2014, Danton signed for Ciarko PBS Bank KH Sanok of

858-664: The ground and stopped the Rattlers' streak cold with a 5-3 win. As of that date, the Rattlers were given only their second regulation loss in 76 regular season games. After three years of playoff contentions the Deseronto Storm clinched the South Division Title and made their way to the Russell Cup Finals with a 4-3 overtime win over the Innisfil Lakers. The Deseronto Storm would go on to play

891-453: The playoff quarter-final. The Thunder swept the Shield 4-games-to-none and summoned the resting first place Bradford Rattlers . The Rattlers drew a bye in the quarter-final and showed considerable rust in the semi-final versus the Thunder. The Thunder shocked the Rattlers and the entire league by taking an early 2-games-to-none lead in the series. The Rattlers regained their legs in game three and battled through 4 extremely tight games to end

924-540: The surname "Danton" from the name of a 13-year-old boy at David Frost 's hockey camp, because the name sounded "cool". He also feuded with Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello and was suspended by the team, prompting his eventual trade to St. Louis . On April 16, 2004, two days after the Blues were eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the San Jose Sharks , Danton

957-438: The time that Frost was Danton's junior hockey coach, with the Quinte Hawks. Frost was acquitted of all charges on November 28, 2008; the trial included testimony from women who had participated in threesomes with other players and Danton. In an unrelated matter, Frost was also acquitted on February 14, 2009 of fraud charges related to the use of one of Danton's credit cards ; Danton stated that Frost had his permission to use

990-775: The winter 2010 semester and joined the Saint Mary's Huskies varsity men's hockey team. On January 27, 2010, Danton played in his first game since being released from prison, and scored a goal for the Saint Mary's Huskies, during their 4-1 loss to the Acadia Axemen , played at the Halifax Forum in Halifax. On January 30, 2010, Danton played for the Huskies during a 5-3 loss to the UPEI Panthers played at

1023-465: Was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder . On July 16, 2004, he pleaded guilty to attempting to hire a hitman , who was actually a police dispatcher , to murder David Frost , his agent , and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Stiehl to seven-and-a-half years in a United States federal prison . To this day, however, Frost denies that he was the target. In 2011, Danton claimed in an interview with ESPN that his original target

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1056-410: Was brought in to coach the team. Frost faced criminal charges in 2008 for his conduct for his time with the team, but was acquitted. Frost brought with him Mike Jefferson and Sheldon Keefe . Although both would play in the National Hockey League , Jefferson (later changed to Danton) would become famous for a mysterious murder-for-hire plot that targeted Frost and landed him in prison. In 1998,

1089-520: Was his estranged father, Steve Jefferson. In November 2005, the CBC program The Fifth Estate aired a documentary, Rogue Agent , about the history between Danton and Frost. In it, the documentary casts light on the controlling relationship Frost had with Danton and how he encouraged Danton to estrange himself from his parents, as well as an alleged incident where Frost and a group of his players abused Danton's younger brother. The documentary also focuses on

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