"You better not lose again. As Wagner was escorted there, he broke free to make a dash toward the opposing bench. He named it Champs Boxing Club & Fitness. The UHL comprised 14 teams, including the Quad City Mallards, the Elmira Jackals, the Flint Generals, the Fort Wayne Komets, the Kalamazoo Wings, and the Adirondack Frostbite. "Honestly, a lot of it was getting so close to a championship with the Trashers but not winning. So we knew Jimmy had resources.. "No," Jimmy replied. Josh Elzinga, a blueliner for the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings, did that for him. ago] Height 6.02 -- Weight 205 [188 cm/93 kg] Regular Season. showed off the aggressively down-market style the Trashers brought to the UHL. Others started formally, proposed and accepted in the way of czarist-era duels: One morning, as AJ was driving to schoolhe was by then a freshman at Manhattanville College, in Purchase, New York, a 40-minute commute from New Fairfieldhe heard Barry Melrose talking smack about the Trashers on ESPN Radio. To the delight of the Danbury press and public, they also brought exciting hockey action and stars such as Brent Gretzky (playing and signing autographs), kid brother of you-know-who. "You need a wild card," says A.J., "so we decided we would beat people to submission. Greg St. Clair, the fan who accompanied his wheelchair-bound wife to games, marked the occasion by getting a tattoo on his left calf of Scrappy the mascot shooting a puck emblazoned with the letters fbi. . puts it, "it got real, real fast." The Galantes hired J. Todd Stirling, a son of former Islanders coach Steve Stirling, as the inaugural coach. He was just back from that broken leg when the Wings came to Danbury. 355 following. Coach Ernie's interest in athletic performance development stems from his extensive career competing in ice hockey. The Galantes told Trashers who were suspendedinvariably for fightingto watch the games from the 102 seats. That is it.. Like Mike Tyson in his prime.". We were paid, and everything was first class. Wagner was apologetic, and A.J. After he was drafted, Vogel invited the couple to Pennsylvania for training camp in August. says. Get access to our unique free agency lists and many more premium features, Drafted 2001, 4 #48 overall by Cedar Rapids Roughriders in the USHL Entry Draft, Drafted 2000, 8 #157 overall by Windsor Spitfires in the OHL Priority Selection. "YOU'D HAVE BLUE-COLLAR GUYS NEXT TO WEALTHY REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS. Mahfuz riad. Their goons fight our goons. "When we got him," A.J. He's crazy.' signed him for another game against Adirondack, in Danbury on Feb. 23, which was also WWE Night. He was a great owner." Jimmy owned a stock car racing team and had long talked about becoming a sports magnate. That team was uniquely physical, to put it nicely, Doug Christiansen, a 6-foot-5 Trashers wing, told me. Ten years ago, Connecticut waste-management king Jimmy Galante started a minor league hockey team and put his teenage son, A.J., in charge. (VOY: "Shattered") Following the loss of the USS Voyager, Johnson was devastated, but he held out hope that Janeway and the rest of the crew were alive longer than most people did. "Al Davis, he was a wild man with a team full of outlaws, and that's how I wanted to be. They had scorers and skaters and playmakers and defensive stalwarts. made connections over the summer with agents, scouts and middlemen who could deliver that goalie from Manitoba or that playmaker from Quebec. One of the featured players, Brad \"Wingnut\" Wingfield plays a significant role in the film. | View as text League Information Josh Elzinga played in four leagues over the course of his career. Through United States Ice Rink Association Gilles has acquired his Hockey Director Certificate, Human Resources Management Certificate and Programming, Marketing and Promotions Certificate. All Rights Reserved. It was one of those things where wed say, Hit this guy. But no one could catch him. Wingfield broke his leg in several places during a Dec. 1 game at the Danbury Ice Arena against Kalamazoo when he was tripped by the Wings' Josh Elzinga in the final seconds of the second. In that time he has been instrumental in helping change the face of hockey in Florida. Al lives in Lithia, Floridawith his wife and son. Wagner's career stats in the league: two games and 73 penalty minutes. SON TY WAS DRAFTED AND SIGNED BY THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS IN 2021. Season. They happily agreed. He was born in the Bronx but grew up in bucolic South Salem, New York; did a stint in the Air Force; and then took a job driving a garbage truck. He currently resides in Southwest Florida with his wife, Wendy, and their two children. In the mid-to-late 1970s, he started his own company, Automated Waste Disposal, and by 2004, hed built it into a trash-collection empire of companies valued at about $100 million. Workers were still welding in seats 90 minutes before the first game, but opening night was a success: A sellout crowd of about 2,500 showed up, and Danbury beat Adirondack 3--1. The NHL bars players who are blind in one eye, so Beauregard was consigned to a career in the minors. GET THE PICTURE? Having been a professional player, coach, and instructor for over 15 years, Gilles has been able to help continue to grow youth hockey programs across the state of Florida. said of Beauregard. He made some contacts, hung out in gyms in the Northeast, met some promoters and trainers, and so far he has represented three fighters. I'll own it. But Galante got around it in classic mob fashion: no-show jobs. Tampa Bay fans still include him among their grievances: a wasted pick. Between periods, players take off their jersey and pads. Maybe thats why I became obsessed with this story: It connects our little home rink with an epic of the human hockey condition. Additionally, Charlie is the Head of Academics for TPH, Estero. But his fights are what people remember. A legion of small business owners still talk about how, on Trashers game nights, downtown blazed to life. Jon Nasty Mirasty, a Cree from Saskatchewan, wore a Mohawk, sometimes multicolored, and would average eight penalty minutes a game for Danbury. By accepting an offer he couldn't refuse. The United States government came in and seized my assets, and one of the assets was the team, Galante told me. "My dad always put me in sink-or-swim-type situations," he says. Originally from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, Gilles Richard is the current Vice-President of Hockey Operations for Southeast Elite Hockey. As with hockey, he had no real connections when he started, but he figured, How hard could it be to break in? Josh Elzinga NOT the Josh who broke Brad Wingfield's leg . He was a star in the UHL, having scored 43 goals for the Port Huron. At A.J. Investigators alleged that by paying a quarterly $30,000 "mob tax" to Matthew (Matty the Horse) Ianniellothen the highest-ranking member of New York City's Genovese crime familyGalante's companies had muscled out potential competitors and charged counties and businesses inflated carting rates. Timo Meier's fantasy hockey value trends up after the New Jersey Devils acquired him. I first heard it from a father on the sidelines of a Little League game soon after I moved in. Originally from Montreal,Charlieplayed over 900 games professionally around the globe over his 17-year career, including the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. Mathieuhasbecome a staple in the Tampa area over the last 2 years coaching kids and offering private lessons at Lightning Hockey Schools and Camps, Lightning Community Hockey Development, Lightning Made, Street Lightning, Chase Your Dreams, Future Goals and as a goalie consultant for the Lightning Development Camp. The second goes on in the front office: signing players, making trades. This summer, she took multiple trips to the ER for what she believes is a pinched nerve in her neck. acted decisively. Wagner had once set a West Coast Hockey League single-season record with 503 penalty minutes. Brenda, confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida, had never been to a pro hockey game. - Verification Badge on your profile, Post a scouting report/trivia/player comment in English (visible here), 2001, 4 #48 overall by Cedar Rapids Roughriders, 2000, 8 #157 overall by Windsor Spitfires. As AJ explained it to me: It happened at dinner. Before a big game a team employee might check into the visitors' hotel and pull the fire alarm. Follow. Such a city will have many of the bad elements of a metropolis and few of the good. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? We're here to win.". ", The Galantes put the rowdiest boosters behind the opposing bench. No slow dissipation for the Trashers, no aging and decline. Many signed with the American Hockey League, the league directly below the NHL, pushing AHL players down to teams in the UHL. Says Pomposello, "Jimmy's old school. But as Wingfield skated away , Elzinga stuck his leg out and pulled back on the left wing's jersey. From March 2014: The oracle of ice hockey. Could there be a better symbol of the link between fans and team? On Dec. 3, 2005, Kalamazoo visited Danbury. In his first semester of college A.J. In this way, they happened across, in addition to all sorts of other malfeasance, evidence of those no-show jobs, which ultimately resulted in additional charges against Galante. He has talked casually with A.J. A view of the scene Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio. . The Trashers had the Adirondack Frostbite. Team Information. Theyd gotten close in 2005; now they intended to kick the son of a bitch in. Take control of your EliteProspects profile! I wouldnt look for the most penalty minutes, he told me. . "I'm one of those guys who lives for competition," he says. ", In their box above center ice the Galantes heckled refs and sometimes pelted opposing players with Skittles. "I cut a foot off the visitors' bench," says Pomposello, "so they'd be all squished together." 2006-2007 Regular Season . Though he started with no contacts in the sport, often relying on Google to find the main phone numbers of other teams, A.J. The story of Galantes team has become legend in Fairfield County, where I live. SON NATE WAS DRAFTED BY MISSISSAUGA IN THE 2021 OHL DRAFT. Brenda St. Clair can serve as an inspiration to goaltenders and all hockey fans throughout the world. One day in November, an employee at the Ice Arena was proud to show the building until he was told his visitor was interested in writing an article on the Trashers. Asan instructorand Director for the HuronHockey Schools at a young age, Steve has been very fortunate to be able to work side by side with some of the best coaches in the business. Listen to the trailer for, the interview ending abruptly when a teacher walked by. We play a team like the Frostbite, a team with maybe two goons. It will have mobsters. starts innumerable sentences, "My dad always says.", Usually so engaging and candid, A.J. As Wingfield skated away, Elzinga grabbed the back of his opponents jersey and pulled him over his outstretched leg, breaking Wingfields left tibia, fibula and ankle. So Greg stitched together multiple chest protectors what he called a Frankenstein model to ensure her safety. said. We were maybe the toughest team to ever play this game. In a nod to waste management he named his team the Trashers; the logo was a garbage can armed with a hockey stick, the Zamboni resembled a trash truck and the mascot was called Scrappy. In 2015, AJ opened a boxing club across from the Danbury arena. The second place AJ looked was where any other fan might have: hockeyfights.com, a website that aggregates footage of brawls on the ice. Launching an expansion hockey team in Danbury seemed less like a vanity play than a natural progression. The winning goal came in the third overtime. So while Greg, 49, can walk, his wife is paralyzed, relying on a motorized wheelchair to move around. "We did our due diligence, and they put in the proper paperwork and were professional," says Richard Brosal, then the UHL's commissioner. Something was off-brand, faded; he was like a dollar bill thatd been through the wash. Hed already played 12 seasons of pro hockey: a total of 13 games in the NHL, followed by years of wandering the minors. Torres said he lost confidence at . Severely injured by a terrible cheap shot from an opponent, Winger is able to rehab his broken leg and get his revenge exactly 367 days later.The film footage is sort of grainy (unless you watch the documentary for some unique angles), but until this film, the audio from the home broadcast of the Danbury Trashers has never been available. conducted one interview, for a New York Times story, while walking through his high school, where cellphones were banned; he had to hang up on the reporter when he passed a teacher in the hall.) My dad wasnt too happy, and in so many words I was told, We need a fucking scorer. I was on spring break from college, and my break consisted of me in my room researching I didnt really have any relationships with other hockey people. "It comes right from the top.". Having failed to agree with players on a new contract, major-league owners canceled the season. On such nights, I suppose Im just like Galante was, rooting for my son in the crazed way understood by all hockey parents. Wingnut went down awkwardly, and a crack could be heard in every part of the arena: Wingnuts left tibia and fibula. At 4 a.m. the players would be out in the parking lot, huddled in their underwear. To circumvent the cap, Galante regularly doled out cash bonuses, gave some players exorbitant living allowances and gave others checks for housing after their allowances had already been paid. Sign up for EP Premium and verify your profile to access these benefits. According to the indictment, Galante was making quarterly payments of $30,000 to Matty the Horse, the successor to Vincent the Chin Gigante and the boss of the Genovese crime family. Furthermore, according to authorities, in April 2005 Galante had met with Louis DeLuca, a longtime Connecticut state senator. He'd already played 12 seasons of pro hockey: a total of 13 games in the NHL, followed by years of wandering the minors. After a life-threatening hockey injury suffered at 18 years of age with a prognosis that he may never be able to play the game again, his passion for hockey and his desire to succeed expectations fueled his rehabilitation and lead him to become an all-rounded athlete who has . He would also wash the Trashers' jerseys in Crisco and slather Vaseline on their helmets so opponents couldn't grab hold in a fight. AJ spent the summer after his senior year assembling a roster. A.J. The rest of the game doubled as a near riot. Brenda has cracked three ribs her first time on the ice she crashed into the boards and years later nearly broke her middle finger trying to make a save. During a 1994 junior hockey game he was on a breakaway when he caught a high stick under his visor. But haberdashery isn't what it used to be, and Danbury has struggled to find a new commercial base. Skokie Hockey is pleased to announce that Adam Elzinga will join the 2016-17 coaching staff as the Head Coach of our 2007 team (Squirt 2). For a team theme song, A.J. recalls, "even the commissioner was like, 'I would advise against that. Marc uses a basis of skating and skills rather than hockey concepts oversystems through proper small area games. For 5 years John was with N.I.S.T.C as the Hockey Director and for 3 years he was with theGlobal Hockey School. Let's just say hindsight is 20/20. "You shoulda seen Rupp," Galante recalls, laughing. By the second round, they had nothing left. Everyone, however, agrees that he did it at least in part for his son, AJ, who was 17. Galante spent $3 million to refurbish the Danbury Ice Arena. A later indictment alleged that in 1992, Galante and associates conspired to set fire to a truck from a rival carting firm and kidnap a driver at gunpoint. Every great team needs a great rival. Galante, at 17, come to run a minor league hockey team with NHL talentand, in turn, take a leading role in Slap Shot meets GoodFellas meets Hoosiers? AL hasattended many coaching seminars and clinics around North America. So why was he being greeted by this kid sporting a nascent goatee, earrings and an Allen Iverson jersey? A case involving a minor-league hockey team also nailed Matty the Horse. Southeast Elite is proud to announce the Mathieu Garon with be an instrumental member of the Southeast Elite organization as a goaltender instructor. Eventually, Donny Grover, a former Trashers defenseman, noticed Brenda in the stands and invited her onto the ice. - Premium Design on your profile page (optional) That matchup was marred by a brawl that kicked off when Trashers left winger Brad Wingfield attempted to fight Kalamazoos Josh Elzinga, who declined the invitation. Galante was a philanthropist; a pediatric suite in the emergency department of Danbury Hospital was named for his family. As evidence that Galante was prone to violence, the prosecution played footage of him purportedly striking the official during the infamous Kalamazoo game. We just figured, Were going to make a team everyone loves to hate, AJ said. It was a violent league made of players on the way up, players on the way down, and some players simply holding on, happy to live in the limbo of the minor leagues. He had me arrested in the locker room. 2023 The Hockey News, Roustan Media Ltd, Get the latest news right to your inbox > Sign up here. In 2004, this meant buying a minor-league-hockey franchise and installing it at the local youth rink, the Danbury Ice Arena. In return, Jimmy asked only that the players make hospital visits or speak at schools. And fans werent the only ones who found the Trashers; players did too. His accomplishments includeover 30 wins across the World, along with competing with Team USA at World Championships. Danbury fans whod followed the team to Glens Falls got word of the situation and gave the players the shirts off their own backs. As Wingfield skated away,. AJ did one of his first press calls on a cellphone in a New Fairfield High School hallway, the interview ending abruptly when a teacher walked by. "After games you'd have these blue-collar guys next to wealthy real estate developers. Good hotels, a beautiful locker roomseveral players remember their tenure on the team as their most satisfying time in pro hockey. If asked why they hadnt made it, theyd tell you no one had ever really given them a shot. If Wylie signs with another team, the Chiefs could have options in . persisted. Currently, Al isanAssistant Coach of the 05 AAA Florida Alliance Elite team. You'd look across the ice, and they had eight to 10 heavyweights looking for a fight. settled on "Welcome to the Jungle." In his 56 games with the Trashers, Wingfield piled up 496 penalty minutes. Then Sen. Joseph Lieberman hailed Galante as a "shining example" in the community. John teaches all levels of private and group lessons. Having collected 563 goals over the course of his 15 seasons in various leagues, Duhart gave the Trashers a second genuine scoring threat. "Then everyone would ask for the check so they could be there for face-off. Craig resides in Estero, Florida with his wife Amy, son Cayden (9), who plays for the Junior Everblades 10U teamand daughter Sophia (12), who currently plays for the Girls Florida Alliance 12U AAA team. In the spring of 2003, while playing for the New Jersey Devils, Rupp had scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup finals. also hired Tommy (T-Bone) Pomposello, a former minor leaguer, who would do everything from managing the equipment to scouting talent to helping run practice. An 11-year-old girl in Detroit had to get staples in her head after . In the summer of '06, the Trashers sent 105 season-ticket holders refund checks, totaling $31,177. I wound up having words with the referee, and unbeknownst to me, he was a full-time police officer in upstate New York, Galante told me. This updated clip brings back the perspective of how Trashers fans were feeling during this moment of redemption. about getting back into sports. Hes working to turn Danbury into a boxing meccaup there with Oxnard, California., Galante got out of prison in 2014. When Danbury became the home of the Eastern Professional Leagues Mad Hatters in 2008, the St. Clairs quickly welcomed them. Not that they just rubber-stamped Galante's application. "Jimmy's a guest of the government, and I love that man." The game plan was 'Keep your cool and you'll get a power play,' but it didn't always work out. Then, as A.J. "Before games we'd be mobbed," says Tom Devine, owner of the Two Steps Downtown Grille. was a senior at New Fairfield (Conn.) High, he was at a family pasta dinner when his father, Jamesknown to all as Jimmycasually asked, "How would you like to run a pro hockey team? In September 2008, U.S. District Court judge Ellen B. Burns sentenced him to 87 months in prison. what happened to josh elzinga hockey. The gangster shrugged: What can I say, right? A violent, brutal melee from start to finish. It was four years to the day from the Trashers' first game. The Trashers would sell out the arena regularly as fans of various ethnicities, ages and collars converged to cheer them on. The Galantes admit that their favorite player was Brad Wingfield, a.k.a. Thats where he told me his story, amid the light and heavy bags, in the regulation ring. At 32, Todd was younger than some of the players. (Galante denies having had this conversation.) Brad WingfieldWingnutchallenged Elzinga: Drop em; lets get it on. Now and then, AJ would watch a game from Section 102. Players - FM Leaders; Teams - FM Leaders . Most dismaying to the citizenry of Danbury, the Trashers' 2006--07 season was canceled. A tale of goons, no-show jobs, and a legendary minor-league franchise that helped land its owner in prison. One team employee had the inspired idea of buying fresh fish and placing it in the HVAC ducts above the visiting locker room. He found skill players on the internet, assembling his squad the way he might have assembled a fantasy-football team. There was only one problem: it wasnt protecting her sides, leaving her exposed, and often, black and blue. They called back, and I said, Do you want to trade that one-eyed guy? His first game with us, he had [a goal and an assist]. "It was definitely a unique group of individualsas well as management!" Barely 50 games into the season Stirling, the coach, was suspended for three games for failing to control his players. MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (A.J.). says, shifting uneasily in his seat. Danbury is a blue-collar town, and they could relate to the players, Galante told me. View the profiles of people named Josh Elzinga. Kalamazoo Wings (Kalamazoo,MI) United Hockey League [Minor Professional] 2000-2007 [click to view all-time roster] "Frank would have been a hell of a Danbury Trasher," A.J. Submit changes (incorrect DOB, missing stats, incorrect stats, social media links etc) using a web form and we will review your update request within 24 hours and update accordingly. Originally from the Metro Detroit area, Craig grew up playing youth hockey in Michigan within the Detroit Little Caesars organization. Word got around the hockey world, and soon A.J. He knows how to treat people. "Listen," he said, "my dad is coming home for dinner at 7:30, and if I don't have a goal scorer by then, I'm in big trouble." Still, Vogel wanted something to remember the moment by, so he donned his goalie gear to take some photos with Brenda on the ice. Frank The Animal Bialowas, a legend in hockey circles, had played three games in the NHL, then spent the rest of his career in the minors, rambling from rink to rink, like a bad man in a Western. Now he was turning up with his gear at a regional airport, being greeted too enthusiastically by what looked like a high-school kid claiming to be his new GM. We still got eight goons.. A.J. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. The issue was a letter he wanted Harper to send the commissioner, absolving Galante: Tell him that it is fucking imperative that we get that letter that Harpers gonna write to Brosal. Galante added what the referee should say in the letter: After coolin off and thinking about it for a few days I was just as much at fault. Harper never sent such a letter, but another wiretap captured Viento on the phone with Brosal: I was asked to give you a call, but not to give you a call, so that you would never be put in the predicament where somebody said that you were called. (Brosal denied any effort at coercion. In 1980, after the Houston Oilers barely missed a trip to the Super Bowl, Coach Bum Phillips gave their fans a famous pep talk. ", THESE BONDS were cemented by a brand of violence the Trashers purveyed without apology. Stirling, the Trashers' first coach, was also indicted, for abetting Galante by using the Trashers' fax machine to submit bogus salary reports to the UHL offices. Players' wives were put on the payroll of Galante-owned companies though they performed no discernible duties. Join Facebook to connect with Josh Elzinga and others you may know. 69 posts. First of all, if you look at the bus, it was pretty sick, Mario Larocque told me. The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Nick Jensen to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4.05 million. It was all over the blogs and hockey-fight sites, the craziness. I was on the bench, Doug Christiansen told me. picks his words with great care when discussing what he calls "the legal issues" of the last few years. Within weeks, the agent was seated beside the boss himself in the owners box at the Danbury Ice Arena, cheering as the Trashers skated out. Adam has over 25 years of hockey experience as a player and coach. Yet in some ways Galantes biography seemed unlike that of a traditional hood. Bethlehem's David Bievenue hands the puck as Capital District Jets' Alexander Ridley defends during Tuesday's Section II Division 1 boys' ice hockey championship game at Messa Rink in Schenectady. She would go there (the Danbury Ice Arena) every single day and sit around in the stands for a total of probably eight hours just to watch an hour of practice, Greg said. fgcu.campuslabs.com. In many ways, the first round of that postseason was the high point: the Trashers versus the Frostbite, best of seven. VS. 1st Period - 7:13 . The team played in the Wings Stadium. I'm not just hungry; my stomach is growling. By Chris Kazarian The legend of the United Leagues Danbury Trashers was cemented midway through the teams first season in a game against the Kalamazoo Wings. Many Trashers playersnow scattered in office complexes and neighborhood rinks across North Americaspeak of this as the greatest night of their hockey life. THE SOUND TRACK of the Starrett City Boxing Club in Brooklyn is on full blast: the thrumming of the speed bag, the grunts of a fighter absorbing shots, the whistle every three minutes to denote the end of a round.