Josh Elzinga Position: D Birthday: Sep 30, 1984 From: Burbank, IL United States Height: 5'11" Weight: 190 lbs. was on the phone with agents for some of the best hockey players in the world. Within a few weeks the town's tattoo artists had learned to replicate the trash-can logo. He had once set a record in the West Coast Hockey League with 503 penalty minutes in a single season. "Jimmy's a guest of the government, and I love that man." and Jimmy Galante. Featured in the NETFLIX documentary Untold: Crime & Penalties, the story of the Danbury Trashers relives the short and tumultuous history of an old United Ho. recalls, "even the commissioner was like, 'I would advise against that. See latest post and follow all instructions. The 2004 05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would . 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. That's all we needed to hear. Jon (Nasty) Mirasty averaged more than eight minutes of penalties over 25 games. The 200405 UHL season coincided with the NHL lockout. 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. "Listen, for all you guys who don't have a sack, I've brought enough balls for everyone," he said. | View as text League Information Josh Elzinga played in four leagues over the course of his career. Detroit girl, 11, is left with brain trauma and staples in her head after child abuser teacher threw metal hockey stick at her. A.J. Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Adam Elzinga, 1982-07-23 Burbank, IL, USA USA. That was the minimum; that was getting your moneys worth. 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. 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. Little separated the team from its fans, physically or culturally: They mostly made nothing, were going nowhere, and knew unfairness. Rupp had played two seasons in the NHL and had even scored the decisive goal for the Devils in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals. Then Jimmy went about being the Jerry Jones of the UHL. He was a star in the UHL, having scored 43 goals for the Port Huron. SHOWTIME The Trashers didn't just start fights. 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.) That meant late-night sessions on hockeydb.com, where he searched for telling stats. It turned into a brawl. They called back, and I said, Do you want to trade that one-eyed guy? His first game with us, he had [a goal and an assist]. Maybe thats why I became obsessed with this story: It connects our little home rink with an epic of the human hockey condition. Yet the father delegated personnel moves to the son. 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. At A.J. And how is this kid running a hockey team?". A violent, brutal melee from start to finish. 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. 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. The first happens on the field, court, or ice. In professional sports, there are usually two games taking place. Team Information. They happily agreed. Born Jul 23 1982 -- Burbank, IL. Maybe it was better that way. Theres nothing sadder than a small city. If asked why they hadnt made it, theyd tell you no one had ever really given them a shot. After one desultory performance, he entered the dressing room carting a basket of tennis balls. . When he caught wind of a local kid who couldn't afford college, he quietly wrote a tuition check. His job was to be the Kevin Costner to Brent Gretzkys Whitney Houston. 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. "We're probably not going to want to participate," he said haltingly. Upon his release he had rebuilt his empire and now, according to The Hartford Courant, was worth more than $100 million. On such nights, I suppose Im just like Galante was, rooting for my son in the crazed way understood by all hockey parents. Word got around the hockey world, and soon A.J. Elzinga refused. First of all, he was a really good player, AJ explained, and second, the name recognition.. Wiretaps of thousands of phone calls between Automated Waste Disposal employees and representatives of other trash companies in 2004 and '05 revealed a variety of criminal activities. Some fights started spontaneously, following a big hit. Questioned about the no-show jobs, former players laughed and changed the subject. But as Wingfield skated away , Elzinga stuck his leg out and pulled back on the left wing's jersey. ", Jimmy paused. puts it, "it got real, real fast." The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? A big city has its strivers and fine food and bright lights. One of the featured players, Brad \"Wingnut\" Wingfield plays a significant role in the film. 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. Listen to the trailer for Holy Week. 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.. The government seized most of his assets, including 25 trash companies and a string of race cars. Many signed with the American Hockey League, the league directly below the NHL, pushing AHL players down to teams in the UHL. Josh Elzinga vs. Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, November 24, 2006 - Port Huron Flags vs. Kalamazoo Wings. At home they took to the ice to Welcome to the Jungle, by Guns N Roses. Matty the Horse spent 18 months in the big house, but he survived it, dying a free man in August 2012. 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. Mahfuz riad. (He also forfeited his ownership in 25 trash-hauling firms.) Nothing.. After a life-threatening hockey injury suffered at 18 years of age with a prognosis that he may never be able to play the game again, his passion for hockey and his desire to succeed expectations fueled his rehabilitation and lead him to become an all-rounded athlete who has . Rumun Ndur ended up seeing red and going batshit crazy, AJ told me. Coach Ernie's interest in athletic performance development stems from his extensive career competing in ice hockey. 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. Brian was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. Mario Larocque was different: Hed been taken in the first round of the 1996 NHL draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. - EP Contact Book listing of your profile (optional) I hear it again every time my son Micahs Squirt Division travel team plays a home game at the Danbury arena. 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. It was a clean shot [but] they came right at AJ, and he had a very severe knee injury, couldnt play hockey anymore. No one likes to put on wet clothes. One team employee had the inspired idea of buying fresh fish and placing it in the HVAC ducts above the visiting locker room. Listen to the trailer for, the interview ending abruptly when a teacher walked by. 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. 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 Danbury became the home of the Eastern Professional Leagues Mad Hatters in 2008, the St. Clairs quickly welcomed them. As Wingfield skated away,. I took a swing at him. just landed Galarza his first TV fight, on Showtime's ShoBox series, and an endorsement deal with the apparel company Rival Boxing. "You can't have him," Roanoke Valley's GM responded. They had scorers and skaters and playmakers and defensive stalwarts. FGCU Ice Hockey - Evaluation Skate Information Meeting. Like Danbury, once the producer of many of the world's hats. Galante spent $3 million to refurbish the Danbury Ice Arena. And that wasn't all. 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. Sign up for EP Premium and verify your profile to access these benefits. The former Director of Hockey Operations for the Jacksonville Ice and Sports Complex, Gilles is no stranger to youth hockey. Originally from the Metro Detroit area, Craig grew up playing youth hockey in Michigan within the Detroit Little Caesars organization. "You don't get involved in verbal altercations," Brosal admonished the ref. "A.J. "I was a big Oakland Raiders fan," says A.J. But in other corners the Galantesand the desperadoes on ice they brought to townare still recalled fondly. The rest of the game doubled as a near riot. He searched two places, one actual, one virtual. Southeast Elite is proud to announce the Mathieu Garon with be an instrumental member of the Southeast Elite organization as a goaltender instructor. began moonlighting as a boxing manager. He would also wash the Trashers' jerseys in Crisco and slather Vaseline on their helmets so opponents couldn't grab hold in a fight. "You shoulda seen Rupp," Galante recalls, laughing. It was a twist Elmore Leonard might have considered improbable. Josh Elzinga has an equally impressive professional playing career and has served as Adam's Assistant Coach for the past 4 seasons. He allegedly kicked a referee. Barely 50 games into the season Stirling, the coach, was suspended for three games for failing to control his players. 80,893) who owns a dry cleaning business, "People thought, You know what, he may be caught up in questionable activity, but he's good to the town.". Jon Nasty Mirasty, a Cree from Saskatchewan, wore a Mohawk, sometimes multicolored, and would average eight penalty minutes a game for Danbury. Galante pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the federal RICO act, one count of conspiring to defraud the IRS and one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud with the Trashers' bogus salary-cap figures. 355 following. ), According to ESPN, an FBI wiretap that was capturing Galantes phone calls would later reveal that three days after Wingnut broke his leg, Galante asked his business associate Ciro Viento to call Commissioner Brosal. 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. I sit in Section 102 and let the other parents have it. He paid the funeral costs of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq and donated $200,000 to a nonprofit that provided financial assistance to soldiers serving overseas. During a 1994 junior hockey game he was on a breakaway when he caught a high stick under his visor. Al lives in Lithia, Floridawith his wife and son. In the spring of 2003, while playing for the New Jersey Devils, Rupp had scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup finals. AJ was more freewheeling when shopping for muscle. Mathieuhas had a lengthy professional career that spanned over a 14 year period. Wagner had once set a West Coast Hockey League single-season record with 503 penalty minutes. 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. John teaches all levels of private and group lessons. It was a big to-do. Although Galante claims that he never actually made contact, he was charged with assault. Every great team needs a great rival. Maybe because Im Italian and in the garbage business.. 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. Not a subscriber? Good hotels, a beautiful locker roomseveral players remember their tenure on the team as their most satisfying time in pro hockey. The winning goal came in the third overtime. Wingfield challenged a Kalamazoo player, Josh Elzinga, to a fight. All Rights Reserved. Parents were warned to keep children away. "He made fans feel like they were an integral part of the team. According to authorities, DeLuca said yes and provided Colella's address. The second goes on in the front office: signing players, making trades. We only use official stats. 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. "I'm one of those guys who lives for competition," he says. Barely two months into the season Ndur was suspended for 20 games after fighting not just opposing players but also officials and opposing coaches. 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. ", Occasionally, though, Jimmy betrayed a temper and turned it on his team. Launching an expansion hockey team in Danbury seemed less like a vanity play than a natural progression. General Manager of the Augusta RiverHawks of the SPHL (2009), General Manager of the Jacksonville Barracudas of the SPHL (2004-2009), Played in 5 leagues over the course of his professional career, Played in the Sunshine Hockey League; Southern Hockey League; ECHL; Atlantic Coast Hockey League; and the World Hockey Association 2, St. Thomas University Graduate (Fredericton, NB, Canada) on an Athletic Scholarship. From March 2014: The oracle of ice hockey. Marc was a professional Triathlete for over 10 years. The cornerstone of Marc's approach is focusing on making each hockey player a better athlete. was fined and suspended for nearly coming to blows with an executive from another team during a game. From November 2019: My family story of love, the Mob, and government surveillance. 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. 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