what happened to josh elzinga hockey

What happened Josh Elzinga? 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. Then Sen. Joseph Lieberman hailed Galante as a "shining example" in the community. After signing Gretzky, he went for Jim Duhart, the Crash Davis of minor-league hockey. For himself he built a skybox equipped with a kitchenette and a flat-screen TV. wasn't the only reason Galante drew comparisons with Tony Soprano. But haberdashery isn't what it used to be, and Danbury has struggled to find a new commercial base. One year ago we knocked on the door, he said. The team played in the Wings Stadium. I never had one bad thing happen in my dealings with Jimmy Galante.". But they also swap remember-that-time-when stories about those two years they ran that crazy-assed hockey team. Most recently in the AAHL with Chicago Blaze. Somehow they got the message upstairs. Yet in some ways Galantes biography seemed unlike that of a traditional hood. I took a swing at him. He's crazy.' They had their own chants and waved body bags when opposing players lost fights. The team's actual payroll would later be estimated at $750,000. So in 2004 Galante sank his money into the hockey equivalent of Double A ball. In the spring of 2003, while playing for the New Jersey Devils, Rupp had scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup finals. Cortisone shots help her deal with frequent elbow pain. You did right by him and were loyal, and he would do anything for you. Wingfield challenged a Kalamazoo player, Josh Elzinga, to a fight. - Premium Design on your profile page (optional) 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. Playing against the Trashers was "a s--- show," said Chris Chaput, who was a center for the Elmira Jackals in 2005--06. But a small city, full of drifters and vacant lots, faded Victorian houses lining its weed-buckled streets, is ruinously sad. NHL hockey fights, brawls, scrums, roughs, hits,. was on the phone with agents for some of the best hockey players in the world. Featured in the NETFLIX documentary Untold: Crime \u0026 Penalties, the story of the Danbury Trashers relives the short and tumultuous history of an old United Hockey League team that married WWE Wrestling with the innocence of The Mighty Ducks to offer a brand of hockey never before seen. This article appears in the May 2018 print edition with the headline The Mobster Who Bought His Teenage Son a Hockey Team., The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? From March 2014: The oracle of ice hockey. Says St. Clair, "It still feels like I got kicked in the f------ chest. All Rights Reserved. Josh Elzinga, a blueliner for the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings, did that for him. He fashioned his club as the bad boys, the evil empire of the UHL: If we cant beat you, were at least gonna beat you up. 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? "You can't have him," Roanoke Valley's GM responded. "Then everyone would ask for the check so they could be there for face-off. We knew the reality: It was hockey, but it was also entertainment. 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. After taking swipes at various players, he grabbed Potvin, the Adirondack coach, and knocked him down. Follow. "After games you'd have these blue-collar guys next to wealthy real estate developers. 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. Originally from Montreal,Charlieplayed over 900 games professionally around the globe over his 17-year career, including the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. Then Jimmy went about being the Jerry Jones of the UHL. I'll own it. Now it's probably best known for its massive federal prison, which housed Lauryn Hill and has been featured in Orange Is the New Black. The New York Yankees have the Boston Red Sox; the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers. In court, Matty the Horse was ruined and old, hard to understand. The most famous tough-guy team ever was whothe Broad Street Bullies, 7475 Flyers? "He must've thought he was on Punk'd or something. Josh Elzinga Position: D Birthday: Sep 30, 1984 From: Burbank, IL United States Height: 5'11" Weight: 190 lbs. Winger Frank (the Animal) Bialowas, a former runner-up for Mr. Manitoba, was not much for impulse control either. So Im like, How the hell am I going to get a trade? I ended up taking this Vipers fan booklet and calling the merchandise number. Not a subscriber? and Jimmy Galante. It was a twist Elmore Leonard might have considered improbable. He has ties,' " says Brosal. I remember being elated, guys tumbling over the boards like wed won the Stanley Cup. The Trashers went on to win that series, but lost the next. Her neck was really bothering her that night and she said, I dont think Ill be going to get on the ice, Vogel recalled. Good hotels, a beautiful locker roomseveral players remember their tenure on the team as their most satisfying time in pro hockey. Listen to the trailer for, the interview ending abruptly when a teacher walked by. "My dad always put me in sink-or-swim-type situations," he says. BY JANUARY 2005 the Trashers were so riddled with suspensions that they had to suit up an assistant coach, Bobby Stearns, who suddenly became a 36-year-old pro hockey rookie. Although the Trashers reported budget came in under the cap, the feds would later claim that for the 200405 season the actual figure was approximately $750,000. 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. Eventually, Donny Grover, a former Trashers defenseman, noticed Brenda in the stands and invited her onto the ice. Maybe because Im Italian and in the garbage business.. 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. Some say he did it as a civic benefactor, to give a depressed city something to rally around. That is it.. For all that's happened, the kid still idolizes his father. The rowdiest spectators were cordoned off in Section 102, directly behind the visitors bench. An 11-year-old girl in Detroit had to get staples in her head after . 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. The Trashers' marquee player was Brent Gretzky, Wayne's kid brother. 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. In professional sports, there are usually two games taking place. "It was definitely a unique group of individualsas well as management!" Elzinga refused. A.J. He was an owner of Automated Waste Disposal, a conglomerate of at least 25 trash-hauling businesses that held a near monopoly in western Connecticut and Westchester. called his middleman in Quebec and essentially rented Wagner for a game against Adirondack. At A.J. had been a serviceable defenseman in high school and had followed the Devils, so he reckoned he knew the sport well enough. Coach Ernie's leadership, motivational skills, training skills, and exceptional training ethics bring exciting elements to Southeast Elite Hockey. The government seized most of his assets, including 25 trash companies and a string of race cars. One was Rumun Ndur, a Nigeria-born Canadian who was known for his aggression. The winning goal came in the third overtime. Take control of your EliteProspects profile! - EP Contact Book listing of your profile (optional) Gilles was the Lead Hockey Instructor for National Hockey Development for 4 years. "Of course, if we had to do it again, would we have accepted that franchise? 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. [The attitude was,] You're supposed to be courteous in minor league hockey? While David-Alexandre Beauregard was no goon, he fit into the Danbury menagerie. 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. The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Nick Jensen to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4.05 million. That was the minimum; that was getting your moneys worth. 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? MIKE RUPP wore a look of confusion. 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. This updated clip brings back the perspective of how Trashers fans were feeling during this moment of redemption. Additionally, Charlie is the Head of Academics for TPH, Estero. ", In their box above center ice the Galantes heckled refs and sometimes pelted opposing players with Skittles. Throughout his busy professional career, he has also participated in numerous hockey schools around the country. A tale of goons, no-show jobs, and a legendary minor-league franchise that helped land its owner in prison. Could there be a better symbol of the link between fans and team? "People would make comments: 'Aren't you afraid of him? 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. Although Jimmy and A.J., with their contempt for other franchises, took pride in letting proxies handle league board meetings and conference calls, Brosal says they were fine corporate citizens of the UHL: "Jimmy would get fined, and he would argueWho do you think you are?and five hours later the money was wired into the account. 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. Originally from the Metro Detroit area, Craig grew up playing youth hockey in Michigan within the Detroit Little Caesars organization. The Galantes admit that their favorite player was Brad Wingfield, a.k.a. What happened today in history (27 February): Sandeep Singh and Constantine I were born, Leonard Nimoy and Chandra Shekhar Azad died, World NGO Day, Bayern Munich was founded, Pakistan retaliated . 2002-03 Chicago Steel #6 Josh Elzinga: 2004-05 Kalamazoo Wings #3 Josh Elzinga: 2005-06 Kalamazoo Wings #3 Josh Elzinga I hear it again every time my son Micahs Squirt Division travel team plays a home game at the Danbury arena. 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. was fined and suspended for nearly coming to blows with an executive from another team during a game. For himself he built a skybox equipped with a kitchenette. says, shifting uneasily in his seat. John was the originalfounding member of the South Florida First Youth Hockey League. He would also wash the Trashers' jerseys in Crisco and slather Vaseline on their helmets so opponents couldn't grab hold in a fight. They were both in waste management, and both possessed an undeniable charm that compensated for their rough edges. He almost looked like Waynethe same intelligent eyes and long face, the same scraggly mall-rat hairbut not quite. They loved playing for Jimmy, because he took care of them. Hockey Fights is an entertainment site with no direct affiliation to the National Hockey League, its teams, or NHLPA. After one desultory performance, he entered the dressing room carting a basket of tennis balls. Word of the incident quickly spread through the blue-collar Connecticut city, which soon embraced the fighting mentality of the Trashers. about getting back into sports. He was just back from that broken leg when the Wings came to Danbury. It was one of those things where wed say, Hit this guy. But no one could catch him. He was a defenseman and hit a kid, Galante said. The documentary does a great job capturing on the emotional story of Wingfield and his strong relationship with both A.J. Barely two months into the season Ndur was suspended for 20 games after fighting not just opposing players but also officials and opposing coaches. You in? AJ and I would stand up there and look at the teams that were coming to play us, Galante told me. Jim grew up and played minor hockey in Toronto, Canada. Facebook gives people the power to. And Galante had the money. Theres nothing sadder than a small city. 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. One year ago we knocked on the emotional story of Wingfield and his strong relationship with both A.J be in. Is n't what it used to be, and Danbury has struggled find! 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