No slow dissipation for the Trashers, no aging and decline. But in other corners the Galantesand the desperadoes on ice they brought to townare still recalled fondly. They also saw the Trashers as a kind of validation: Someone believes in Danbury. The Trashers had the Adirondack Frostbite. It has survived not only five centuries, 25. december. A violent, brutal melee from start to finish. I'm not just hungry; my stomach is growling. Brenda St. Clair can serve as an inspiration to goaltenders and all hockey fans throughout the world. But haberdashery isn't what it used to be, and Danbury has struggled to find a new commercial base. Hed been named with several others, including Trashers Coach J. Todd Stirling, who pleaded guilty to taking part in the salary-cap fraud. But by 1 a.m., the Trashers were out of fresh shirts. When he caught wind of a local kid who couldn't afford college, he quietly wrote a tuition check. A.J. He allegedly kicked a referee. "People love to watch him perform. He has ties,' " says Brosal. He graduated from Manhattanville with a business management degree in 2008 and bought into a New York City company that sells heating oil and diesel fuel. Originally from Montreal,Charlieplayed over 900 games professionally around the globe over his 17-year career, including the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. FUNNY THING about Connecticut: It's one of the wealthiest states, but it also has a good many broke cities and hard-ass working-class towns. From March 2014: The oracle of ice hockey. Most teams rode in a rickety, Partridge Familystyle bus. Adam Elzinga. One was Rumun Ndur, a Nigeria-born Canadian who was known for his aggression. "You need a wild card," says A.J., "so we decided we would beat people to submission. Josh Elzinga has an equally impressive professional playing career and has served as Adam's Assistant Coach for the past 4 seasons. In September 2008, U.S. District Court judge Ellen B. Burns sentenced him to 87 months in prison. 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. Established 1996 -- Celebrating Our 25th Year . 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. And so it was that Jimmy Galante's "property rights system," as the government called it, became one of the largest racketeering cases in U.S. history. He had me arrested in the locker room. They were both in waste management, and both possessed an undeniable charm that compensated for their rough edges. 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. Jimmy owned a stock car racing team and had long talked about becoming a sports magnate. "He can score unbelievable," A.J. 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. This summer, she took multiple trips to the ER for what she believes is a pinched nerve in her neck. Gretzky reportedly earned $100,000, which would have left little for the rest of the team. 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. The 200405 UHL season coincided with the NHL lockout. "Frank would have been a hell of a Danbury Trasher," A.J. A Cree from Saskatchewan who sometimes sported a multicolored Mohawk, he stood barely 5'10" but had a chin of granite and relished punching above his weight class. Take control of your EliteProspects profile! Al wenton to a successful financial career before building and operating his own ice rink in Lithia, Florida. 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. ), The Trashers finished the 200405 season with a 44297 record, which put them in the playoffs. 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. [The attitude was,] You're supposed to be courteous in minor league hockey? The Trashers traveled in a luxury coach; they played card games and talked all night. Josh Elzinga vs. Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, November 24, 2006 - Port Huron Flags vs. Kalamazoo Wings. drives his white Mercedes more than three hours to White Deer, Pa., where Jimmy is serving his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex. Born Jul 23 1982 -- Burbank, IL. Also, its funny as hellThe Sopranos meets Slap Shot. Josh Elzinga vs. Brad Wingfield, December 03, 2005 - Kalamazoo Wings vs. Danbury Trashers . The teenage sports exec became an irresistible media story. Coach Ernie's leadership, motivational skills, training skills, and exceptional training ethics bring exciting elements to Southeast Elite Hockey. A.J. It had to do with the acoustics. Launching an expansion hockey team in Danbury seemed less like a vanity play than a natural progression. You'd look across the ice, and they had eight to 10 heavyweights looking for a fight. 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. about getting back into sports. Team Information. TEMPE - Despite a third period push, an injury-riddled Arizona State hockey team fell 4-2 to Alaska Fairbanks on Friday night's series opener at Mullett Arena. Jon (Nasty) Mirasty averaged more than eight minutes of penalties over 25 games. "Before games we'd be mobbed," says Tom Devine, owner of the Two Steps Downtown Grille. She started playing hockey, in her wheelchair. 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. So in 2004 Galante sank his money into the hockey equivalent of Double A ball. Recalls Galante, "It was obvious he was thinking, What did I get myself into? He had once set a record in the West Coast Hockey League with 503 penalty minutes in a single season. 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. Since birth Brenda has suffered from spina bifida, an abnormality that causes an opening in the spinal column. FACE-OFF Backed by some of his father's truck drivers in 2004, A.J. The Trashers' marquee player was Brent Gretzky, Wayne's kid brother. A UHL season was about 80 games followed by playoffs; the champion took home the Colonial Cup. Galante had contributed to DeLuca's campaignsand those of many Connecticut politiciansbut this was personal. For all that's happened, the kid still idolizes his father. Elzinga refused. The first happens on the field, court, or ice. (The indictment alleged that the Trashers' player payroll was in excess of $750,000, but the team reported that it hadn't gone over the UHL salary cap of $275,000.) One player told me he did actual work in waste removal for Galantenothing no-show about his job. More information about Marc can be found atwww.OptimumAthlete.com. There was no other number. John also has coached with the Florida Jr. Panthers and Florida Panthers Hockey Schools for many years. was on the phone with agents for some of the best hockey players in the world. After one desultory performance, he entered the dressing room carting a basket of tennis balls. At a press conference on April 1, Galante also introduced the team's 17-year-old president, who had just bought a suit for the occasion. The second place AJ looked was where any other fan might have: hockeyfights.com, a website that aggregates footage of brawls on the ice. . Brian was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. 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. In keeping with the menacing nickname they gave themselves, the Trashers dropped their gloves at every opportunity, gleefully racking up penalty minutes. Next year were going to kick the son of a bitch in!, It was like that with the Trashers. VS. 1st Period - 12:37. The gangster shrugged: What can I say, right? "YOU'D HAVE BLUE-COLLAR GUYS NEXT TO WEALTHY REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS. Sign up today to get the best features and analysis from the NHL and beyond. Yet the father delegated personnel moves to the son. As he explained, No matter what type of day you had when you go out on the ice for an hour, hour and a half or two hours you forget everything that happened that day and you focus on that black little puck. When an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. Be a goalie, to which she said, Alright. And it all ended in an FBI raid and subsequent indictment that landed Galante in the slammer, along with the infamous gangster Matthew Ianniello, aka Matty the Horse, the then-86-year-old capo di tutti capi of the Genovese crime family. 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