Roope Hintz

rdf:langString Roope Hintz

rdf:langString Roope Hintz

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rdf:langString Hintz with the Dallas Stars in 2020

rdf:langString Roope Hintz (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈro:pe 'hints]; born 17 November 1996), nicknamed the "Ace of Spades", is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Finland, Hintz played within the Ilves organization before spending the 2012–13 season playing for the Tampa Bay Juniors in the Empire Junior Hockey League. He also played an early portion of the season with the Bismarck Bobcats of the North American Hockey League before returning to play for Ilves professionally in Finland. Hintz played in seven Liiga games but spent the majority of the season with Finland's U20 team. As the youngest player on the Ilves during the 2014–15 Liiga season, Hintz recorded five goals and 12 assists for 17 points through 42 games. Due to his Liiga play, Hintz was ranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau amongst the eligible European skaters before being selected 49th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Hintz made the transition to the North American professional leagues during the 2017–18 NHL season. He played with the Stars' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars, during the 2018 Calder Cup Finals against the Toronto Marlies. Hintz's play during the 2018–19 season earned him a full-time position at the NHL level during the 2019–20 season and during 2021–22 began playing consistently as the top line center, and the top player on the team.