*Photo courtesy of hfboards.hockeysfuture.com
A couple weeks ago, I was extremely fortunate and privileged enough to have an interview with Dana Heinze, the head equipment manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Mr. Heinze hails from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a town an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh. Mr. Heinze has been around pro hockey for 25 years with a career that has spanned three pro leagues (East Coast Hockey League, International Hockey League and the National Hockey League), taken him to 4 championship series (3 Stanley Cup Finals) and winning 2 Stanley Cup Championships ( 2004 with Tampa Bay Lightning and 2009 with Pittsburgh Penguins). Over the past 25 years, Mr. Heinze has seen pretty much everything. He has worked with some of the biggest stars in the game in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Vincent Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis and is fortunate enough to go to work every day to a job that he absolutely loves. Without further a due, here is that interview:
ME: How did you get started in the equipment manager business since I’m not really sure how one gets started in this line of work?
Mr. Heinze: Well, sometimes things happen for a reason, and sometimes things happen by accident. In 1987, I was playing drop-in hockey at college and I was on the ice as a goalie and this guy ran me over. Out of no where, this other guy (keep this in mind this was just drop in hockey) just started to fight him. So after the game, I walked to the dressing room to see this person was defending me because I had no idea who he was. I met him and his name was Jeff Krug and he happened to be the equipment manager for the Utica Devils of the American Hockey League and through that we became friends. I was going to school at the time for illustration, design and photography and next thing you know, I was getting the behind the scenes treatment of this hockey team you know? Like learn how they did things, helped folding towels and things like that. The next thing you know when I was done my schooling, I went back to Johnstown and I was a “rink rat” trying to find direction; Trying to find work at an advertising agency type of thing, and the next thing that you know, in Johnstown, they started a Pro hockey team based in the East Coast Hockey League. Now one day I was at the rink and I was talking with the pro shop guy about the team, and he said “you know, they’re looking for a guy to help them” and I said “really? That’s cool”. So I talked with the General Manager and he directed me to the Head Coach, who happened to be Steve Carlson, one of the Hanson Brothers from Slapshot. So I talked with him and remembered him from Baltimore (Skipjacks of the AHL) coming in to Utica and I remembered him from both Slapshot obviously, and Steve had played for my hometown team, the Johnstown Jets. So he asked me what experience I had and I said “absolutely none” and he said “Well you’re Hired!” haha. So that was it. I started with the Johnstown Chiefs in the East Coast Hockey league.
There were 5 teams back in 1989, and I’ll tell you, it was the real Wild West, the real life Slapshot back when it first got started up. There was everything from 5on5 line brawls to just about you name it. Actually, we had a pretty good team. We ended up going to the finals and losing in game 7 in our own building in Johnstown which was heart breaking. We actually got the first player from the NHL/AHL, he only had one or two games in the NHL/AHL, Scott Gordon sent to us from Halifax, and I know he was disappointed but he really was our MVP and got us to the finals and unfortunately we lost a heartbreaker. That was my “getting thrown into the fire”. It was crazy. It was just a start up team. We were in “Boston Bruins” colours; we drove up to Baltimore where they were having an equipment sale so we got the majority of our equipment like pants, gloves and stuff like that. I remember sitting in the locker room peeling off the Pittsburgh Penguins stripes from the pants, because we wanted to go with all black pants. From watching hockey and seeing how they did it Utica, I knew that these guys were professionals you know? It was a PRO league, it was the lowest form of Pro hockey but as Steve Carlson always reminded me, “Ya we are in the lowest professionals, but we are still professionals at the end of the day and you should be treated that way and you should treat your players that way”. Man, I thought we ran it like we were in the NHL haha. We packed their bags, we set the room up for them, we did the best we could with what we had.
ME: That’s absolutely unbelievable. Your last point actually segways into my next question. Obviously you have many duties and responsibilities as the Head equipment manager for the team and I was wondering if you could highlight a few of those responsibilities?
Mr. Heinze: Well, back in the early days it was strange because I was responsible for both medical and equipment. I became certified in CPR and took First Aid courses and learned how to do the basic stuff. We also had a sports medical clinic that would come down on game nights. I had no idea about the medical side of things and I really did not enjoy that part of the job. Back then I was a “one man show” you know? I handled the medical stuff, poured drinks between periods and was the stick boy. Back then we only had 16 players, but one guy handling 16 players is quite the chore. Learning under the gun like that was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Highlights for me were being part of a team for the first time, like not when you play in high school, but being a part of a real team with all of the responsibilities, and duties, and care for others. Learning the responsibilities of how to handle a budget, even though it wasn’t the biggest budget in the world, was valuable.
That same year, January 4th 1989 I was actually the backup goalie that year at well, well I shouldn’t say back up, more like emergency goalie haha. As it turned out, Scott Gordon got called up to Halifax and we were playing on a Sunday evening against the Erie Panthers, one of our arch rivals, and there was a 5on5 line brawl. Our goaltender, Lance Carlson, skated to centre ice and fought the Erie goaltender and Steve looked over at me and said “You’re going in!” and I said “No I’m not!” and he replied “O yes you are!” haha and in our small little building of about 3,000 people were chanting my name and I got to play about the last 4 minutes of the game and it was awesome. I even stopped a breakaway haha. Going to the championship your first year, working around guys who wanted to win was just great. Working with Steve Carlson, who people just see as a Hanson Brother, but was actually a really great coach and good teacher for me was just as important. The things he taught me, really have carried with me throughout my pro career that is still going strong today, in 2013 believe it or not.
Me: That is absolutely amazing. I know, or at least from what I do know, that being an equipment manager isn’t an easy job but you do it really well and I’m thoroughly impressed.
Mr. Heinze: Well I appreciate that. It comes with trail and error. The important thing to remember as an equipment manager is that you are responsible for a heck of a lot of things, probably more than what most people think. I’m human, and if I make a mistake I own up to it, and I let them know, and I try to correct it and being honest is the way to run a business; treat people the way you want to be treated and build that relationship, that professional relationship with the players. I’m friends with all of these guys, but believe me, at the end of the day, I’m the last person on their mind you know? We don’t go out. Maybe on the road the players will be like “Hey, we’re gonna take the trainers out” and that’s great, but they’re not different, they’re just like you and I but they have a great skill set that other people just don’t have. I’ve done this for so long now that that’s all I know and my days are long, but I take a lot of pride in what I do, we have a great staff and my first year when I was working by myself for 16 guys, I thought “O ya, I can do this no problem” and you learn real quick and become real humbled. It shouldn’t be about you, and you do need help so that’s when I got wise and started to get people to come in and help.
ME: Very true. Something I was just thinking about too that you were talking about when you were with Johnstown when they went to the ECHL final, were you with the Pittsburgh Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009?
Mr. Heinze: I was. I was also lucky enough to be in Tampa in ’04 when we beat Calgary in the Stanley Cup Final.
ME: Wow, I had no idea that you were also with Tampa when they won the cup! Could you possibly talk about those experiences and comment on what it’s like being on a Stanley Cup winning team?
Mr. Heinze: I worked in Johnstown through to 1992 and through the gentlemen that I mentioned before Jeff Krup, I got the opportunity to work some summer hockey schools for Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils. Eventually they gave me the opportunity to work on the equipment staff with them. I was only there for one year because the people I worked with were miserable, and me as a young kid I was like “man, I worked so hard to get to the National Hockey League” and I was really excited about where I was. It had nothing to do with Lou Lamoriello who I respect more than anything and is one of the greatest people I’ve ever met. It was the people. The staff was miserable and I couldn’t understand why. So I went back to Johnstown in the ECHL. Then I got a big break when my coach in Johnstown called me one day and said “I have good news and bad news” and I said “O, what’s that?”. “Well, the bad news is that you aren’t working here anymore”, and I said “WHAT?!?!?!”. He said “But the good news is that you’re going to work for the Detroit Vipers” and I said “No I’m not!” Haha. I was happy where I was but our coach basically kicked me out of the nest. So I went to Detroit when the Vipers were in their first year of being run by the Tampa Bay Lightning and through that experience, I got to know the equipment manager in Tampa, Ray Fill and the GM in Tampa. After one year in Detroit, they gave me a call and said they had an opening in Tampa and wanted me to come work for them, so I went and worked for Tampa and that was an eye opener all over again but it was great.
We had a very good hockey team in Tampa back when I started in 2000 and they made some changes. John Tortorella took over and kind of changed the culture with Jay Feester as GM. They just changed a couple of things and one of the key components of that year was Dave Andreychuck. It seemed like there was a purpose and it wasn’t easy not to follow Dave Andreychuck. He’s one of the classiest and greatest people in the world you know? That year, everything seemed to start falling into place, we had a good run, then we had a tough stretch in December if I can remember correctly where we lost some games. Khabibulin was our goaltender, we had such a great locker room of guys, there were no divisions, no cliques, we were all one. Like Marty St. Louis, Brad Richards, Vinny Lecavalier….
ME: That was the year (2003-2004) that St. Louis won the Art Ross and Heart Trophies correct?
Mr. Heinze: Ya It was. We just all came together. We rolled into the playoffs feeling pretty good and we went up against a tough team in the Islanders, won a couple of tough overtime games in that series; Man, just being in the Stanley Cup playoffs was incredible. The year before in the playoffs we had lost in the 1st round to the New Jersey Devils and it was quite the eye opener. John Tortorella made it a point to let us know that even though we thought we had a really good team that year, that we weren’t ready to get over that hump and we learned a lot about that loss in the playoffs to the Devils. We understood what it took (to win) the next year and that was a big factor. And like I said, we beat the Islanders in the 1st round and in the 2nd round we went into Montreal, one of the historic franchises, and we walked in there and handled them pretty good. We beat them twice in Montreal, I think wee might have swept them. Man, it was unbelievable, I believe it was game 3 when Vinny Lecavalier put his stick between his legs and tipped the puck in with less than a minute to go to tie the game. Everything went our way that year. I remember seeing Canadiens highlights of players of their bench with their hands on their heads going “O my god, what just happened”. I believe in that game it was Brad Richards who went down and scored the game winner in that one too. We next faced a really tough opponent in the Philadelphia Flyers. That was a war. The next thing you know, we make it through there and we’re like “Holy S@@t we’re going to the Stanley Cup Finals!” Haha. That was unbelievable, I mean it was the biggest stage in hockey. That was a series. You know people talk about the semi-bit of controversy “did they score” (referring to Game 6 in Overtime when later highlights would show that Calgary possibly scored to win the Stanley Cup, however it was not called a goal and Tampa went on to win in triple over time, sending the series to Game 7) and then the magic happened when Marty St. Louis scores and it was just crazy, it was absolutely crazy. I mean we were going back to Tampa to play in game 7, it doesn’t get better than this, game 7 in the Stanley Cup final. And to win that game, on two unbelievable goals; Vinny Prospal was huge that game, and it was magical, and such an incredible game and such a special thing to be a part of. I mean, to think about all of the people who have worked in the hockey industry and the NHL and never had an opportunity to win a Stanley cup is just incredible. I mean, I have my name on the cup, I have a ring, It was great. It was really great and Tampa was just and still is a first class organization.
Then a couple years later, the job in Pittsburgh opened up. I went back to Johnstown and my friend Chris Stewart who I worked with in Johnstown who was actually a medical trainer with me in Johnstown when the ECHL finally smartened up and made every team have a medical trainer, was just hired as the medical trainer in Pittsburgh and told me about the open position in Pittsburgh. I said “No, I’m alright, I’m happy in Tampa, I’m very comfortable where I am”. So a week or two went by and he told me they still didn’t have a guy and again, I said “no, I’m alright”, and here again is where my former coach, Scott Allen phones me and starts ripping me a new one saying “What are you doing? There’s a job open in Pittsburgh, this is your dream job. You have this opportunity, what is wrong with you?!?! You are an idiot!” haha. So I remember getting permission from the Lightning and calling Ray Shero (General Manager of the Penguins) who put me in touch with Michel Therrien (then coach) and set up a meeting with him. I remember I was at the practice rink, talking with Michel Therrien over the phone, and that went really well and then a day later Ray Shero called me and offered me the position and I was like “Holy crap!” never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would work for the Pittsburgh Penguins and that’s 8 years ago.
At the time, the Penguins were in a rebuilding process but one thing leads to another and before you know it, we go to the finals and we face the Detroit Red Wings. We lose a heartbreaker (in 2008 Stanley Cup Final) and I had never experienced that in the NHL. It took me back to my days in the ECHL when we lost the championship in Johnstown and say what you want but when you play for a championship, a championship is a championship and when we lost to Detroit it was heartbreaking. I’m still disappointed that I don’t have a ring from Johnstown, you know? We should have won that year. And I think just an ironic twist to the story was that Scott Allen was a player on that team in Carolina who beat us in Johnstown haha. But we’ve still stayed close friends throughout the years.
The following year we get an opportunity once again to go back to the Finals and play our nemesis the Detroit Red Wings and this time we beat them, in Game 7 in dramatic fashion with Marc-Andre Fleury sliding over and making an unbelievable save against one of the best defensemen in NHL history. I can’t believe it. I’m so blessed to have done the things I have done. I’ve worked over 1,600 professional games, I have two Stanley Cup championships, I’ve been to the finals in the minors, and the NHL 4 times, and have 2 championships. What a ride it’s been. I like to quote a band I always listen to The Grateful Dead and say “What a long, strange road trip its been”. You know, I have to pinch myself sometimes and my wife always reminds me “You know how lucky you are to be able to go to a job everyday that you love?” and I’ve loved being an equipment manager since they day I first started. A lot of people have to go to work everyday and work because they have to. I get to go to a job every day that I love and I’ve been around great people my entire career, whether the NHL, IHL, or the ECHL, there’s great people in hockey everywhere. Probably the most important thing to me, minus winning the Stanley Cup, is that I have a team picture from every team I’ve been on and I go back and look at those pictures and a photograph tells a story and a photograph generates a memory and I love going back to those pictures because they bring back a lot of great memories.
ME: For my last question, you’ve been in the league a long time and have seen a lot of amazing players, so who has been the best player that you have worked with over your time in the league and who do you think is the best player in the game today?
Mr. Heinze: I might disappoint you on this because being an equipment manager and doing this as long as I’ve done this I’ve been around great players and I’ve been really lucky. I still hold the guys like Marty. St. Louis in such high esteem you know? Guys like Brad Richards, Dave Andreychuk, even though he wasn’t the best player, how you could ride on his coat tails as a leader and obviously I work for Sidney Crosby. He is one of the most special people. He is such a true professional and such a gentleman and I see him on a different level than what the fans see. The kid is such a winner, competitor and such a nice guy its unbelievable. My motto that I live by and that I’m extremely proud of is “attention to detail in everything that I do” and Sid as well, is very particular, he understands his role; I can’t imagine what its like to be Sidney Crosby and as much as I respect him, I would never want to walk a mile in his shoes for all the money in the world. It’s amazing, and he’s such a champion at it. He’s so good in his own way but I mean there’s other great players too, it’s hard to say. To be honest with you, to me it’s just not a fair question after being around hockey for 25 years on all different levels, everyone is unique and its hard to point the finder at just one guy. I’m envious of myself when Mario Lemieux walks into the equipment room. As one of our owners, he’ll come down to the equipment room and he’s honestly the most normal guy ever and I talk to him frequently and I don’t get nervous but its like I’m a fan of the Penguins and its Mario Lemieux! Haha. Its just really awesome.
*Once again I would like to thank Mr. Henize for taking the time out of his day to speak with me and give me such great insight on the behind the scenes life of an NHL equipment manager.
