sensed a fight coming, he headed down near the ice to capture it on his camcorder. Born Jul 23 1982 -- Burbank, IL. It's possible Wylie could return on a one-year deal that is a significant raise from the $2.38 million he earned last season. Southeast Elite is proud to announce the Mathieu Garon with be an instrumental member of the Southeast Elite organization as a goaltender instructor. The trade rumors negatively impacted Torres on the field. AL hasattended many coaching seminars and clinics around North America. "The Danbury Trashers were the Syracuse Bulldogs of the movie Slap Shot," says Pomposello, the all-purpose assistant. Players were welcome to stay at the Galantes' gargantuan home and, in one case, not even asked to leave after using Roseanne Galante's laptop to download Internet porn. As the case proceeded, there was plenty of collateral damage. With the NHL idled by a lockout that would scuttle the 2004--05 season in mid-February, the UHL became a haven for restless NHL players wanting to play to stay in shape. Most teams rode in a rickety, Partridge Familystyle bus. He did have a weakness, though. And thats how Greg and Brenda St. Clair were introduced to hockey, enough to motivate them to attend the Trashers next game and eventually become addicted to a sport they previously knew little about. Elzinga refused. During a pretrial hearing assistant U.S. attorney Michael Gustafson characterized Galante as a "manipulating, controlling, hands-on bully." AFTER THE FALL While Jimmy (below right) serves out his prison sentence, A.J. HOCKEY IS BACK!!!. After the game Wingfield told a local reporter, "It felt great to get back at Elzinga but I would have liked to have seen him leaving the ice on a stretcher or in a body bag.". MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (A.J.). The league set an annual salary cap of $275,000, with a $2 luxury tax for every dollar spent above the threshold. As with hockey, he had no real connections when he started, but he figured, How hard could it be to break in? Sign up today to get the best features and analysis from the NHL and beyond. "We're probably not going to want to participate," he said haltingly. But his passion for sports never faded. Originally from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, Gilles Richard is the current Vice-President of Hockey Operations for Southeast Elite Hockey. Ice hockey coach and former NHL forward who won a gold medal in 1980 with the U.S. Olympic hockey team. We still got eight goons.. On Oct. 15, Jimmy began serving his time. Upon his release he had rebuilt his empire and now, according to The Hartford Courant, was worth more than $100 million. Gilles is a Level 4 Hockey Coach with USA Hockey. pursues his new sports passion, boxing management. Having collected 563 goals over the course of his 15 seasons in various leagues, Duhart gave the Trashers a second genuine scoring threat. John was the originalfounding member of the South Florida First Youth Hockey League. was on the phone with agents for some of the best hockey players in the world. 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. 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). Winger Frank (the Animal) Bialowas, a former runner-up for Mr. Manitoba, was not much for impulse control either. Galante had contributed to DeLuca's campaignsand those of many Connecticut politiciansbut this was personal. starts innumerable sentences, "My dad always says.", Usually so engaging and candid, A.J. Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. SHOWTIME The Trashers didn't just start fights. Rumun Ndur ended up seeing red and going batshit crazy, AJ told me. Marc was a professional Triathlete for over 10 years. Jimmy pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, tax fraud, and wire fraud. He went online to find the main switchboard number for the Roanoke Valley (Va.) Vipers, left a message and eventually made contact with his counterpart. We were paid, and everything was first class. Season. Someone had said Galante, with a near-monopoly on regional garbage collection, was driving out competitors. After hearing ESPN hockey commentator Barry Melrose, a co-owner of the Frostbite, trash the Trashers on the radio, an enraged A.J. And what's more entertaining than a bunch of crazy guys getting into fights?". In the summer of '06, the Trashers sent 105 season-ticket holders refund checks, totaling $31,177. Before a big game a team employee might check into the visitors' hotel and pull the fire alarm. He allegedly kicked a referee. 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. So Greg stitched together multiple chest protectors what he called a Frankenstein model to ensure her safety. "Honestly, a lot of it was getting so close to a championship with the Trashers but not winning. She had always wanted to play in a game and afterward she kept talking, Did you see this save and that save? It was really, really great. Wingnut. We play a team like the Frostbite, a team with maybe two goons. Following a successful junior hockey career, he played four (4) years of college hockey at Eastern Michigan University, where he was a CSCHL All-Star in 2001. Through United States Ice Rink Association Gilles has acquired his Hockey Director Certificate, Human Resources Management Certificate and Programming, Marketing and Promotions Certificate. One team employee had the inspired idea of buying fresh fish and placing it in the HVAC ducts above the visiting locker room. Just two unforgettable seasons sealed in amber. The Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League now play downtown, and it's fair to wonder whether they would be there were it not for the hockey culture Jimmy Galante started and the arena he built. One was Rumun Ndur, a Nigeria-born Canadian who was known for his aggression. Through United States Ice Rink Association Gilles has acquired his Hockey Director Certificate, Human Resources Management Certificate and Programming, Marketing and Promotions Certificate. Mahfuz riad. If asked why they hadnt made it, theyd tell you no one had ever really given them a shot. 2005-2006 UHL Fight - Danbury Trashers Brad Wingfield Takes Revenge On Josh Elzinga Who Ended His 2004-2005 Season On A Slew Footing Incident The Broke Winge. I fined him. The team played in the Wings Stadium. 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. Teaching athletes to learn and howto think, over just going through the motions of drills, brings the best out of each athlete. GET THE PICTURE? First of all, he was a really good player, AJ explained, and second, the name recognition.. "You can't have him," Roanoke Valley's GM responded. 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. I'm not just hungry; my stomach is growling. It will have mobsters. ago] Height 5.11 -- Weight 175 [180 cm/79 kg] Embed Josh Elzinga stats! At 4 a.m. the players would be out in the parking lot, huddled in their underwear. They had their own chants and waved body bags when opposing players lost fights. The United States government came in and seized my assets, and one of the assets was the team, Galante told me. Still, the joy of playing the sport makes her feel, in her own words, on top of the world, far outweighing any pain she has endured. From March 2014: The oracle of ice hockey. For all that's happened, the kid still idolizes his father. A senior at New Fairfield High, AJ had been an alternate captain of his schools hockey team, which played at the Danbury Ice Arena with Jimmy often in attendance. "Every character they had, we had. Josh Elzinga player profile, stats and championships. . Some say he did it for the same reason he owned a race-car squad: He loved to compete. Gilles was the Lead Hockey Instructor for National Hockey Development for 4 years. In the spring of 2003, while playing for the New Jersey Devils, Rupp had scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup finals. 2006-2007 Regular Season . The charge was later dropped due to a lack of clear evidence, but Brosal fined Galante an undisclosed amount and suspended Harper for five games. And that wasn't all. In 2015, AJ opened a boxing club across from the Danbury arena. AJ spent the summer after his senior year assembling a roster. Soon they were regulars, and at one game they renewed their marriage vows. The UHL had a salary cap that limited teams to a total of approximately $275,000 for the whole roster. So in 2004 Galante sank his money into the hockey equivalent of Double A ball. drives his white Mercedes more than three hours to White Deer, Pa., where Jimmy is serving his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex. According to authorities, DeLuca said yes and provided Colella's address. Her neck was really bothering her that night and she said, I dont think Ill be going to get on the ice, Vogel recalled. Al wenton to a successful financial career before building and operating his own ice rink in Lithia, Florida. Though the camp was postponed until September, the St. Clairs decided to head south, meeting Vogel at Ice Line in West Chester, where he learned to skate as a kid. In keeping with the menacing nickname they gave themselves, the Trashers dropped their gloves at every opportunity, gleefully racking up penalty minutes. Wingfield was back in uniform, having healed from the slew-footing by Elzinga that had broken his leg in several places. One of the featured players, Brad \"Wingnut\" Wingfield plays a significant role in the film. "It comes right from the top.". When Danbury became the home of the Eastern Professional Leagues Mad Hatters in 2008, the St. Clairs quickly welcomed them. Stirling avoided jail time after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud. "People would make comments: 'Aren't you afraid of him? "You don't get involved in verbal altercations," Brosal admonished the ref. When linesman James Harper approached him, they engaged in a shouting match, and Jimmy reportedly gave Harper a fat lip. Jimmy and A.J. Originally from Montreal,Charlieplayed over 900 games professionally around the globe over his 17-year career, including the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. ", HAVING A son named A.J. The New York Times described him as a Danbury trash hauler suspected of mob ties who had a story right out of The Sopranos., From December 2019: Scorseses elegy for the American gangster. And Galante had the money. But AJs favorite was Brad Wingnut Wingfield. There was something else in the books too. Jon (Nasty) Mirasty averaged more than eight minutes of penalties over 25 games. She started playing hockey, in her wheelchair. Pick your poison. Born 1984-09-30 in Burbank, Illinois. But he would become something of a hockey Crash Davis: He would play through 2013, retiring at 37. He was a defenseman and hit a kid, Galante said. But Galante got around it in classic mob fashion: no-show jobs. It was all new to him, but he was sure of the player he wanted most: Brent Gretzky, the brother of the NHL legend Wayne. ", Jimmy paused. A big city has its strivers and fine food and bright lights. The second place AJ looked was where any other fan might have: hockeyfights.com, a website that aggregates footage of brawls on the ice. Little separated the team from its fans, physically or culturally: They mostly made nothing, were going nowhere, and knew unfairness. It was a clean shot [but] they came right at AJ, and he had a very severe knee injury, couldnt play hockey anymore. 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. Team Information. But a small city, full of drifters and vacant lots, faded Victorian houses lining its weed-buckled streets, is ruinously sad. There was an incident where one of our players attacked one of the Adirondack coaches, and that ended up in the Toronto Star. AJ and I would stand up there and look at the teams that were coming to play us, Galante told me. Elzinga declined, but as Wingfield skated away, Elzinga pulled on his jersey and stuck out a foot to trip him. Typical New York Rangers or New York Islanders fans were in the position of heroin addicts whod lost their supplywhich is how they found their way to the Trashers. They stayed in the best hotels and ate at the best restaurants. says wistfully. How did A.J. Jimmy Galante tried to get onto the ice through the penalty box. Paul is currently the Hockey Director for the Miami Toros Hockey Program, where he brings an extremely high level of playing and coaching experience to the Kendall Ice Arena. The rivalry between the teams developed fast. AJ called it a coincidence: Changes in the league made continued play impossible, he said, not the legal problem. Of course, his dads arrest played a role. Facebook gives people the power to. picks his words with great care when discussing what he calls "the legal issues" of the last few years. This updated clip brings back the perspective of how Trashers fans were feeling during this moment of redemption. By game's end they were hooked. The Galantes hired J. Todd Stirling, a son of former Islanders coach Steve Stirling, as the inaugural coach. But they also swap remember-that-time-when stories about those two years they ran that crazy-assed hockey team. "I got lectured a lot by Mr. Brosal, our commissioner," A.J. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You did right by him and were loyal, and he would do anything for you. That is it.. (A.J. Since birth Brenda has suffered from spina bifida, an abnormality that causes an opening in the spinal column. A.J. But for the Trashers, there was a third game, although neither Jimmy nor AJ knew about it. Josh Elzinga vs. Brad Wingfield, December 03, 2005 - Kalamazoo Wings vs. Danbury Trashers . She forgets about being in the chair, Greg added. ", Rupp's skepticism did not diminish when Galante piloted his blue Escalade out of the airport parking lot and promptly got lost. He almost looked like Waynethe same intelligent eyes and long face, the same scraggly mall-rat hairbut not quite. According to the subsequent indictment, the investigation was part of an effort to thwart illegal practices in the trash hauling industry. It had been kicked off by a complaint. Though he scored on the play, he lost sight in his left eye. "After games you'd have these blue-collar guys next to wealthy real estate developers. The second year, Port Huron became the Roanoke Valley Vipers. ", In his first game for Danbury, Beauregard had a goal and an assist as the Trashers won 5--1. 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. 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? View the profiles of people named Josh Elzinga. What happened Josh Elzinga? The Trashers were even able to land a few genuine NHL players, one of whom was Mike Rupp. She had tears in her eyes and was thanking us so much. For a few hours, hockey had given Brenda a sense of normalcy to which Vogel can relate. I will. What followed was a process of trial and error, with the couple purchasing equipment and constantly refining it to fit Brendas needs. I never had one bad thing happen in my dealings with Jimmy Galante.". "Before games we'd be mobbed," says Tom Devine, owner of the Two Steps Downtown Grille. Seven players were sent to the penalty box. They weren't just happy to go to games. In the summer of 2005, federal agents raided Galantes offices, coming away with more than $500,000 in cash and more than 5,000 boxes of documentsreceipts, account books, you name it. Josh Elzinga NOT the Josh who broke Brad Wingfield's leg . In his first semester of college A.J. ", "Dad, if this guy had two eyes, he might be one of the greatest NHL players ever! But even Wingnut had nothing on Chad Wagner. He's crazy.' Same for Mike Rupp. ", On most Saturdays, A.J. Mario Larocque was different: Hed been taken in the first round of the 1996 NHL draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. To Galante, it was a rounding error. Like any father, you want to be able to do something for your son.. We had 10 goons! He was one of those players who had everything except whatever mysterious quality it is that separates Wayne from Brent, the Yes from the Not Quite. It was all over the blogs and hockey-fight sites, the craziness. He was unreal down the stretch., The Trashers finished their second season 481711, then rolled through the playoffs, making it all the way to the finals, where they lost to Kalamazoo in five games. Ice hockey coach with USA hockey tell you no one had ever really given them a Shot, his... Those of many Connecticut politiciansbut this was personal eight minutes of penalties over 25 games a 4. 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