Player Profile: Roope Hintz

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz was recently named as best at his position by the NHL Network alongside fellow forward Jason Robertson. Hintz and Robertson anchor the Stars’ top forward line with veteran forward Joe Pavelski. Here’s what you need to know about Hintz.

Roope Hintz was born in Tampere, Finland, on November 17, 1996, to Marika and Kai Hintz. Marika and Kai played basketball growing up, but Roope followed his brother Miiko’s footsteps and ultimately played hockey. Roope was raised in Nokia, Finland, where he learned to skate at the Pyry Skating School and played hockey, basketball, and soccer. The 26-year-old center and left winger got his nickname Ace of Spades from a tattoo on his forearm — a trio of cards that spell out his birthday.

Hintz, who stands at 6’3″ and weighs 225 lbs, was drafted 49th overall in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars. Previously, Hintz played for Ilves from 2013-15 and HIFK from 2015-17. In 2014-15, Hintz was the youngest player on HIFK’s roster, recording 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 42 games while finishing eighth in points and seventh in assists.

Hintz signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars on May 4, 2017, worth $2.775 million. He attended the Dallas Stars’ training camp before the 2017-18 NHL season but was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. He made his AHL debut on October 5, 2017, scoring in the Texas Stars’ 6-5 win over the Chicago Wolves at the H-E-B Center. He split his time between Dallas, Texas, and Cedar Park, Texas, and helped the Texas Stars to a Calder Cup playoff push in 2018. He made his NHL debut on October 4, 2018, recording one shot on goal and four hits in 9:59 time on ice in a 3-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes at the American Airlines Center.

Hintz signed a three-year, $9.45 million contract with the Dallas Stars on November 9, 2020, and an eight-year, $67.6 million contract extension on November 29, 2022. He began the 2022-23 NHL season on the Dallas Stars’ top line and recorded his first career postseason hat trick in Game 2 of the Stars’ first-round series against the Minnesota Wild in a 7-3 win and became the fourth Stars player to score a hat trick in the playoffs and the first to do so in Dallas.

Hintz’s girlfriend, Kristina Niemi, is a trending topic among Dallas Stars fans. Niemi has been designing Stars playoff gear with fellow wives and girlfriends (WAG), Julia Taka-aho — who is Miro Heiskanen’s girlfriend — and collaborated with local small businesses in recent years. Taka-aho’s from Helsinki, Finland, and reportedly from an equestrian family.

Hintz grew up as a Real Madrid fan. His No. 1 bucket list item’s the FIFA World Cup Final, FIFA is his favorite video game series, and Hawaii is a place he hasn’t been to but would like to visit. Hintz’s other passion is golf, as he has said he’d be a golf player if he didn’t play hockey. Math was his favorite subject in school, Saturday his favorite day of the week, The Wolf of Wall Street’s Jordan Belfort is his favorite TV show character, and he has been told that he looks like Eminem/Slim Shady.

Hintz is underrated but arguably elite, thanks to his size, speed, and shot. He’s an offensive threat who deserved his massive contract extension in 2022. But can he provide the same offense in 2023-24? Let me know in the comments!