Wagner had once set a West Coast Hockey League single-season record with 503 penalty minutes. Lets face it: What else does Danbury really have?. 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 ended up reaching over the bench and grabbing the Adirondack coach, trying to pull him over the boards. He also played one season for the Russia Omsk of the KHL. [The attitude was,] You're supposed to be courteous in minor league hockey? Playing against the Trashers was "a s--- show," said Chris Chaput, who was a center for the Elmira Jackals in 2005--06. From November 2019: My family story of love, the Mob, and government surveillance. But AJs favorite was Brad Wingnut Wingfield. (The video was inconclusive.) While David-Alexandre Beauregard was no goon, he fit into the Danbury menagerie. (Prosecutors ultimately dropped the case for lack of proof. Word got around the hockey world, and soon A.J. We were maybe the toughest team to ever play this game. For all that's happened, the kid still idolizes his father. His job was to be the Kevin Costner to Brent Gretzkys Whitney Houston. Initially, just as a spectator. When asked whether they knew anything about the other side of Galantes life, most said something along the lines of Not exactly, but we did know we were well taken care of. drives his white Mercedes more than three hours to White Deer, Pa., where Jimmy is serving his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex. Wagner was apologetic, and A.J. View the profiles of people named Josh Elzinga. SON NATE WAS DRAFTED BY MISSISSAUGA IN THE 2021 OHL DRAFT. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. The Trashers still trigger strong responses in Danbury, too. The Danbury Trashers earned respect with their fists as often as their sticks. Coach Ernie's interest in athletic performance development stems from his extensive career competing in ice hockey. 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 . One night, he got into a shouting match with a stranger who turned out to be the visiting teams general managerthe result being a call to AJ from Richard Brosal, the UHL commissioner, followed by a short suspension. He posted a 28 wRC+ in the month of August, meaning he was 72 percent worse than the average MLB hitter. In 2015, AJ opened a boxing club across from the Danbury arena. The former Director of Hockey Operations for the Jacksonville Ice and Sports Complex, Gilles is no stranger to youth hockey. And Galante had the money. But his passion for sports never faded. Gilles was the Lead Hockey Instructor for National Hockey Development for 4 years. Its all Ive known for my whole life, she said. ago] Height 6.02 -- Weight 205 [188 cm/93 kg] Regular Season. ", THE RAIDERS' AL DAVIS WAS "A WILD MAN WITH A TEAM FULL OF OUTLAWS," SAYS A.J., "AND THAT'S HOW I WANTED TO BE. Young Blood, Goon, they were all there. "I loved every player," Jimmy asserts. Hes working to turn Danbury into a boxing meccaup there with Oxnard, California., Galante got out of prison in 2014. Jimmy Galante was arrested on June 9, 2006, not long after the final game of the season. He fights with heart. Fifteen years have passed since the Danbury Trashers disbanded in 2006 as a result of the federal investigation that landed Jimmy Galante in prison after he pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, tax fraud and wire fraud. Barely 50 games into the season Stirling, the coach, was suspended for three games for failing to control his players. He almost looked like Waynethe same intelligent eyes and long face, the same scraggly mall-rat hairbut not quite. "Especially for a guy with one eye. 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. All told, he played just five games for them. Predictably, Wingnut went after Elzinga, administering a considerable beating and triggering another near riot. Good hotels, a beautiful locker roomseveral players remember their tenure on the team as their most satisfying time in pro hockey. It was one of those things where wed say, Hit this guy. But no one could catch him. The Trashers were even able to land a few genuine NHL players, one of whom was Mike Rupp. called his middleman in Quebec and essentially rented Wagner for a game against Adirondack. "We loved those fansI mean loved," says Omicioli. Josh Elzinga has an equally impressive professional playing career and has served as Adam's Assistant Coach for the past 4 seasons. Galante named his team for the family business: the Trashers. Al grew up and was raised in small-town Manitoba and played all levels of minor and senior hockey. Depending on whom you ask, Jimmy Galante was either one of its mobsters or a legit businessman whose waste-removal company had become associated with the Mafia. "I still hate even the name Kalamazoo.". Theyd gotten close in 2005; now they intended to kick the son of a bitch in. Somehow they got the message upstairs. 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. THE NEW HAVEN division of the FBI is located downtown, on the old site of the New Haven Arena, a prime hockey venue that housed minor league teams from the 1930s to the '70s. Additionally, Charlie is the Head of Academics for TPH, Estero. 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. Most of these guys, if theyd been drafted into the NHL, had gone late, in the triple digits. Toward the trade deadline, we were going through a slump. On June 8, 2006, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office announced that Galante was the subject of an indictment that included charges of fraud, extortion, racketeering, tax fraud and conspiracy. After signing Gretzky, he went for Jim Duhart, the Crash Davis of minor-league hockey. Soon they were regulars, and at one game they renewed their marriage vows. According to authorities, DeLuca said yes and provided Colella's address. Teaching athletes to learn and howto think, over just going through the motions of drills, brings the best out of each athlete. If Micahs short careerhes currently 10 years oldwere, God forbid, to come to a sudden end, Id gladly enlist a mobster to buy him a team so he could still have a future in hockey. There were hundreds of fans like Greg and Brenda St. Clair, a Danbury couple who went halfway through the season to check out the new team. Timo Meier's fantasy hockey value trends up after the New Jersey Devils acquired him. FACE-OFF Backed by some of his father's truck drivers in 2004, A.J. It was a big to-do. Although Galante claims that he never actually made contact, he was charged with assault. 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. Gilles is a Level 4 Hockey Coach with USA Hockey. It started becoming urban legend.. They stayed in the best hotels and ate at the best restaurants. Gilles is a Level 4 Hockey Coach with USA Hockey. And that wasn't all. Galante spent $3 million to refurbish the Danbury Ice Arena. 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. You have to understand, Dave MacIsaac, who played 62 regular-season games for Danbury, told me. Having collected 563 goals over the course of his 15 seasons in various leagues, Duhart gave the Trashers a second genuine scoring threat. If you have any questions or problems with the league statistics contact: League Admin SON CONNOR IS NOW PLAYING IN THE USHL (WATERLOO BLACKHAWKS), Played in over 1,000 games in the NHL, AHL, Swedish Elite League, Finnish National League and more, Private hockey instructor with Saveology.com Iceplex team, Former Assistant Coach for the Florida Everblades (ECHL) during the 09-10 season, Currently the Director of Hockey Operations at TPH Ft. Lauderdale, National Hockey League (NHL) Alumni for the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, 2013-current -Coach with the Florida Alliance/Southeast Elite Program, 2012-current -Coach with the Florida Jr. Everblades, Player for the United States men's ice hockey team in three Olympic's (2002, 2006, and 2010), Playedfour years at the University of WisconsinMadison, This website is powered by SportsEngine's. By accepting an offer he couldn't refuse. It was a different day of hockey., Life for the Trashers was life on the road, going from small city to small city. He named it Champs Boxing Club & Fitness. Though he scored on the play, he lost sight in his left eye. "I cut a foot off the visitors' bench," says Pomposello, "so they'd be all squished together." 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. It wasnt a crisis, but it was a drag. I'll own it. Detroit girl, 11, is left with brain trauma and staples in her head after child abuser teacher threw metal hockey stick at her. Josh Elzinga, Danville -- 5'11" late '84 is the younger brother of Adam Elzinga, an '82 who played for Danville last year (and recently made the OHL's Peterborough Petes). Little separated the team from its fans, physically or culturally: They mostly made nothing, were going nowhere, and knew unfairness. AJ and I would stand up there and look at the teams that were coming to play us, Galante 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. 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