The government seized most of his assets, including 25 trash companies and a string of race cars. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? 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.". I never had one bad thing happen in my dealings with Jimmy Galante.". Good hotels, a beautiful locker roomseveral players remember their tenure on the team as their most satisfying time in pro hockey. One of the featured players, Brad \"Wingnut\" Wingfield plays a significant role in the film. "Al Davis, he was a wild man with a team full of outlaws, and that's how I wanted to be. He currently resides in Southwest Florida with his wife, Wendy, and their two children. A.J. Catalyzed by their new scorer, the Trashers cruised through the regular season, finishing 48--17. Through United States Ice Rink Association Gilles has acquired his Hockey Director Certificate, Human Resources Management Certificate and Programming, Marketing and Promotions Certificate. As AJ explained it to me: It happened at dinner. "My dad always put me in sink-or-swim-type situations," he says. Al lives in Lithia, Floridawith his wife and son. (I wanted to bring something back to the community, Galante told me when I spoke with him in February.) But his fights are what people remember. 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. Many signed with the American Hockey League, the league directly below the NHL, pushing AHL players down to teams in the UHL. Josh Elzinga, a blueliner for the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings, did that for him. He had me arrested in the locker room. But Jimmy Galante was smart, and the G-men could never quite nail him. The rest of the game doubled as a near riot. Guess what? [40 yrs. The Trashers were hosting the Kalamazoo Wings, and Brent Gretzky was being shadowed by the Kalamazoo defenseman Josh Elzinga. The Galantes told Trashers who were suspendedinvariably for fightingto watch the games from the 102 seats. Most recently in the AAHL with Chicago Blaze. He got suspended., As James Harper, a veteran minor-league linesman, was talking with the scorekeeper, he got into it with Jimmy Galante, whod come down from the owners box. 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. Galante spent $3 million to refurbish the Danbury Ice Arena. That matchup was marred by a brawl that kicked off when Trashers left winger Brad Wingfield attempted to fight Kalamazoo's Josh Elzinga, who declined the invitation. John also has coached with the Florida Jr. Panthers and Florida Panthers Hockey Schools for many years. Little separated the team from its fans, physically or culturally: They mostly made nothing, were going nowhere, and knew unfairness. There was no other number. "I cut a foot off the visitors' bench," says Pomposello, "so they'd be all squished together." It started becoming urban legend.. Mahfuz riad. Residents greeted the new hockey team with considerable excitement. Josh Elzinga NOT the Josh who broke Brad Wingfield's leg . John teaches all levels of private and group lessons. Galante was a philanthropist; a pediatric suite in the emergency department of Danbury Hospital was named for his family. ", Occasionally, though, Jimmy betrayed a temper and turned it on his team. The first was the famed Quebec League (officially the Ligue Nord-Amricaine de Hockey), which can be thought of as an aquarium stocked with fighting fish: young goons and old goons, bald goons and goons with mullets. "Well, he's like anyone else to me. The Danbury Trashers earned respect with their fists as often as their sticks. The doors to the visiting team's penalty box were also welded together, so opponents had to fling themselves over the boards to enter the box. "I loved every player," Jimmy asserts. Born Jul 23 1982 -- Burbank, IL. Still, as one might expect from a teenage GM, the roster was dense with goons. That spring, when A.J. The team's actual payroll would later be estimated at $750,000. 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. and Jimmy Galante. ", In their box above center ice the Galantes heckled refs and sometimes pelted opposing players with Skittles. The rivalry between the teams developed fast. 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.) "We had two defensemen hurt; otherwise we woulda won," A.J. The second year, Port Huron became the Roanoke Valley Vipers. "Jimmy's a guest of the government, and I love that man." A.J. Thats where he told me his story, amid the light and heavy bags, in the regulation ring. We were maybe the toughest team to ever play this game. Teaching athletes to learn and howto think, over just going through the motions of drills, brings the best out of each athlete. We knew the reality: It was hockey, but it was also entertainment. 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. Their goons fight our goons. what happened to josh elzinga hockey. says. Hockey Fights is an entertainment site with no direct affiliation to the National Hockey League, its teams, or NHLPA. You'd look across the ice, and they had eight to 10 heavyweights looking for a fight. It was a twist Elmore Leonard might have considered improbable. DeLuca pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of threatening. The Trashers featured some of the most storied names in hockey violence. Many Trashers playersnow scattered in office complexes and neighborhood rinks across North Americaspeak of this as the greatest night of their hockey life. Wingfield challenged a Kalamazoo player, Josh Elzinga, to a fight. Jimmy owned a stock car racing team and had long talked about becoming a sports magnate. On Dec. 3, 2005, Kalamazoo visited Danbury. So I reached out to a guy I knew in the Quebec League and said, Get me Chad Wagner., Chad Wagner was one of the most feared hockey fighters of the era. While David-Alexandre Beauregard was no goon, he fit into the Danbury menagerie. Josh Patterson (F) 2000-2003: 3: Peterborough Petes: Lukas Krajicek (D) 2000-2003: 3: Peterborough Petes: Jon Howse (F) 2000-2003: 3: Peterborough Petes: Not Activated Sections Endorsements 's account.). Josh Elzinga vs. Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, November 24, 2006 - Port Huron Flags vs. Kalamazoo Wings. But even Wingnut had nothing on Chad Wagner. Because adult-sized chest protectors were too big for her, she initially wore one meant for children. And hed still kill us, AJ went on. The Trashers still trigger strong responses in Danbury, too. Vogel and the St. Clairs developed a friendship on Facebook thanks to their mutual interest in hockey. said of Beauregard. Such a city will have many of the bad elements of a metropolis and few of the good. Says St. Clair, "It still feels like I got kicked in the f------ chest. He also played one season for the Russia Omsk of the KHL. Needless to say it was gobbled right up.The documentary has taken the hockey and sports worlds by storm. Having played over a decade in the ECHL including four seasons playing at the AHL level (Worcester IceCats, Grand Rapids Griffins, Lowell Lock Monsters, and Rochester Americans), his eight seasons with the Florida Everblades culminated in the team Captain having his iconic #9 jersey retired. Lets face it: What else does Danbury really have?. 117 Followers, 355 Following, 69 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Josh Elzinga (@jelzinga86) 117 Followers, 355 Following, 69 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Josh Elzinga (@jelzinga86) jelzinga86. We just figured, Were going to make a team everyone loves to hate, AJ said. As Wagner was escorted there, he broke free to make a dash toward the opposing bench. As evidence that Galante was prone to violence, the prosecution played footage of him purportedly striking the official during the infamous Kalamazoo game. acted decisively. 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. Southeast Elite is proud to announce the Mathieu Garon with be an instrumental member of the Southeast Elite organization as a goaltender instructor. Listen to the trailer for Holy Week. He posted a 28 wRC+ in the month of August, meaning he was 72 percent worse than the average MLB hitter. According to the indictment filed with the U.S. District Court in Connecticut, in addition to skating for the Trashers, several players (or their wives) were on the payrolls of his various companiessalesperson, sales manager, whatever. Launching an expansion hockey team in Danbury seemed less like a vanity play than a natural progression. 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. But as Wingnut moved away, Elzinga stuck out his skate and grabbed Wingnuts jersey. Most of these guys, if theyd been drafted into the NHL, had gone late, in the triple digits. 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. Al wenton to a successful financial career before building and operating his own ice rink in Lithia, Florida. Like Mike Tyson in his prime.". He scores like it's drinking water. It was happening at the FBIs office in New Haven, where, by the spring of 2005, a handful of agents were deep into an investigation of Galantes garbage business. By game's end they were hooked. 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. 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. Like any father, you want to be able to do something for your son.. It was populated by the die-hard, the angry, and the drunk. Al has coached youth hockeyfor the last 9 years and isa level 5 USA Hockey coach. Furthermore, according to authorities, in April 2005 Galante had met with Louis DeLuca, a longtime Connecticut state senator. "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." Jimmy was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault. For himself he built a skybox equipped with a kitchenette and a flat-screen TV. If you have any questions or problems with the league statistics contact: League Admin But in other corners the Galantesand the desperadoes on ice they brought to townare still recalled fondly. Jimmy Galante was arrested on June 9, 2006, not long after the final game of the season. . Now, the younger Galante has embraced boxing instead of hockey. Josh Elzinga Defense Born Sep 3 1984 -- Burbank, IL [38 yrs. says, shifting uneasily in his seat. All would plead guilty, as would Galante. He was a star in the UHL, having scored 43 goals for the Port Huron Beacons the previous season. They had their own chants and waved body bags when opposing players lost fights. The Trashers' most notorious festival of violence had taken place on Dec. 1, 2004, when they hosted the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings. The roster was constantly in flux, but it usually had more enforcers than players in need of protection. DeLuca believed his granddaughter's husband, Mark Colella, had physically abused her. No slow dissipation for the Trashers, no aging and decline. Galante passed him a note that asked, Do you want me to have someone pay him a visit? You have to understand, Dave MacIsaac, who played 62 regular-season games for Danbury, told me. The former Director of Hockey Operations for the Jacksonville Ice and Sports Complex, Gilles is no stranger to youth hockey. He reportedly spent more than $3 million to expand the rink from a 600-seat bandbox to a 2,500-seat showplace called the Danbury Ice Arena. Wagner had once set a West Coast Hockey League single-season record with 503 penalty minutes. THE PLAYERS KNEW THAT THEIR OWNER WAS, WELL, CONNECTED, BUT THEY DIDN'T CARE. Kalamazoo Wings (Kalamazoo,MI) United Hockey League [Minor Professional] 2000-2007 [click to view all-time roster] felt that the Trashers needed a goal scorer. Hed been named with several others, including Trashers Coach J. Todd Stirling, who pleaded guilty to taking part in the salary-cap fraud. Josh Doan and Jack Judson scored for the Sun Devils (15-19-0), who were forced to play a man short against the Nanooks (19-10-2) due to mounting . Steve Lynch has been coaching ice hockey for over 20 years. And that wasn't all. He had once set a record in the West Coast Hockey League with 503 penalty minutes in a single season. (Jimmy was allowed to answer only a few questions by email sent through A.J. After he was released on $1 million bond, he was asked whether he had any comment. 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. "When we got him," A.J. Like Danbury, once the producer of many of the world's hats. 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. No one likes to put on wet clothes. 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. Be a goalie, to which she said, Alright. GET THE PICTURE? Pick your poison. After hearing ESPN hockey commentator Barry Melrose, a co-owner of the Frostbite, trash the Trashers on the radio, an enraged A.J. The Minnesota Wild have acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft. ", Rupp's skepticism did not diminish when Galante piloted his blue Escalade out of the airport parking lot and promptly got lost. And the noisemy God, the noise! Now and then, he liked to make an elaborate gesture, something attention-getting. He was a great owner." Winger Frank (the Animal) Bialowas, a former runner-up for Mr. Manitoba, was not much for impulse control either. Galante, then a freshman at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y., introduced himself as team president. 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. Some say he did it for the same reason he owned a race-car squad: He loved to compete. Jon Nasty Mirasty, a Cree from Saskatchewan, wore a Mohawk, sometimes multicolored, and would average eight penalty minutes a game for Danbury. Tampa Bay fans still include him among their grievances: a wasted pick. Wagner was apologetic, and A.J. 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. If Wylie signs with another team, the Chiefs could have options in . - Premium Design on your profile page (optional) In 1980, after the Houston Oilers barely missed a trip to the Super Bowl, Coach Bum Phillips gave their fans a famous pep talk. The state senator had also told an undercover agent that he would use his influence to discover anything that could hurt Galante and "blunt it as best I can." My father said, out of nowhere, If I ever buy a hockey team, youre going to run it. I was like, Yeah, sure. Then, two days later, he said, Okay, I bought the team. True to his word, Galante made his son the teams general manager. Seven players were sent to the penalty box. AFTER THE FALL While Jimmy (below right) serves out his prison sentence, A.J. NHL hockey fights, brawls, scrums, roughs, hits,. U.S. Hockey Report provides exclusive amateur hockey news reporting and scouting services in the United States and Canada. Gustafson would later describe Galante as a manipulating, controlling, hands-on bully., When I asked Galante why hed become a fixation for prosecutors, he said, I have no idea. The wiretaps captured Galantes associates recalling a trip to Mount Kisco, New York, where they wentas Michael Gustafson, the lead assistant U.S. attorney who handled the case, would later state in courtto retain the services of a leg-breaker known as the Carpenter. Also caught on tape was Galante telling an associate to deliver a message to a would-be canary: Long Island says hello, referring to Matty the Horse Ianniello. He ended up reaching over the bench and grabbing the Adirondack coach, trying to pull him over the boards. Unlike most enforcers, Wingnut could really play. And Brenda was given a new on-ice opportunity when Mad Hatters goalie Jeff Hill jokingly yelled at her to Be a man. Team in Danbury seemed less like a vanity play than a natural progression Davis, he,! 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