Swedens biggest newspaper reported this today: (google translated)
(his blog: http://www.mikedanton22.com/kazakhstan-true-story-2/ )
He has served a prison sentence for conspiracy to commit murder.
But that was nothing compared to hockey time in Kazakhstan.
The former NHL star and Swedish acquaintance Mike Danton , 33, tells Now open in his blog about the misery he experienced during professional life in eastern Europe.
- Soon we will be seeing a suicide case , he writes.
The former NHL player's trial in 2004 became one of the most high-profile legal cases a sports star ever been involved in North America.
After Mike Danton served his seven year sentence , he started on his career in Sweden and Division 1 team IFK Ore .
A career which then led on to Kazakhstan and the team Beibarys Atyrau .
He left the country four months later and now comes with serious allegations against the club management , corruption , lies and miserable living conditions .
Did not laugh
Danton says in his blog that , among other things, 30 percent of the wages went straight into the coach's pocket, that the penalty for using the wrong workout clothes became a half salary deductions .
- Our meals consisted also of minimal portions. Our only source of energy was a bowl of oatmeal . When I brought it up with the coaching staff , they felt that it was enough, writes 33 -year-old .
He also talks about the mood of the team:
- We did not talk during warm-ups . We did not even smile . Seriously, I think a smile was a crime in Kazakhstan. There was a picture of an Olympian on the walls in our arena , a guy with seven medals around his neck and his face was as if his dog had been hit by a train.
Decapitated horse outside the home
Danton also writes that some of his teammates had their passports stolen by the club 's lead that they would not be able to leave the team and the country.
- When we were away on trips , they would get their passports the day before the trip, but was forced to return the passports as soon as we got home. Otherwise waited punishment.
Danton's family, wife and two children , lived with him while in Kazakhstan and Canadian says that at one point was a decapitated horse outside their home and in the locker room crept scorpions.
" Had more freedom in prison "
- It was the worst hockey decision I made in my entire career . I lived under better conditions in prison and had much more freedom there. In Kazakhstan , it was misery all the time, continuous corruption and you could say that I spent four months in prison , Danton writes .
- The last straw for me was when the club management would cut my salary in half to the thought that I played poorly . But I had only played four games after an injury .
(his blog: http://www.mikedanton22.com/kazakhstan-true-story-2/ )
He has served a prison sentence for conspiracy to commit murder.
But that was nothing compared to hockey time in Kazakhstan.
The former NHL star and Swedish acquaintance Mike Danton , 33, tells Now open in his blog about the misery he experienced during professional life in eastern Europe.
- Soon we will be seeing a suicide case , he writes.
The former NHL player's trial in 2004 became one of the most high-profile legal cases a sports star ever been involved in North America.
After Mike Danton served his seven year sentence , he started on his career in Sweden and Division 1 team IFK Ore .
A career which then led on to Kazakhstan and the team Beibarys Atyrau .
He left the country four months later and now comes with serious allegations against the club management , corruption , lies and miserable living conditions .
Did not laugh
Danton says in his blog that , among other things, 30 percent of the wages went straight into the coach's pocket, that the penalty for using the wrong workout clothes became a half salary deductions .
- Our meals consisted also of minimal portions. Our only source of energy was a bowl of oatmeal . When I brought it up with the coaching staff , they felt that it was enough, writes 33 -year-old .
He also talks about the mood of the team:
- We did not talk during warm-ups . We did not even smile . Seriously, I think a smile was a crime in Kazakhstan. There was a picture of an Olympian on the walls in our arena , a guy with seven medals around his neck and his face was as if his dog had been hit by a train.
Decapitated horse outside the home
Danton also writes that some of his teammates had their passports stolen by the club 's lead that they would not be able to leave the team and the country.
- When we were away on trips , they would get their passports the day before the trip, but was forced to return the passports as soon as we got home. Otherwise waited punishment.
Danton's family, wife and two children , lived with him while in Kazakhstan and Canadian says that at one point was a decapitated horse outside their home and in the locker room crept scorpions.
" Had more freedom in prison "
- It was the worst hockey decision I made in my entire career . I lived under better conditions in prison and had much more freedom there. In Kazakhstan , it was misery all the time, continuous corruption and you could say that I spent four months in prison , Danton writes .
- The last straw for me was when the club management would cut my salary in half to the thought that I played poorly . But I had only played four games after an injury .