Professional hockey is different from any other sport, says A.J. Galante. “There’s something about going to a live hockey game that is just unmatched. The energy—I don’t know if it’s the crisp air inside of an ice arena,” Galante says. Professional Danbury hockey, he adds, is its own unique gem. “To watch hockey in Danbury is special; every game feels like an event.”
Galante knows this well. His dad, Jimmy, owned the Danbury Trashers in the United Hockey League from 2004 to 2006 and appointed young Galante as general manager of that team when he was just 17 and still in high school. The team Galante and his dad put together played its home games at the Danbury Ice Arena and soon became the stuff of sports legend thanks to its teenage general manager, rowdy fans, and brash physical play that frequently resulted in on-ice fights. The team set a league record for penalties accrued in a single season and reached the finals in their second season. However, the Trasher’s disbanded after that season when Owner, Jimmy Galante was arrested and accused of racketeering and tax fraud, but that wasn’t the end of the team’s legacy. A.J. Galante and the team have since been featured in national publications and were the subject of the Netflix documentary Untold: Crimes and Penalties, which has made the team a household name with fans across North America.
Meanwhile, in 2019 the Danbury Ice Arena welcomed a new team, the Danbury Hat Tricks. The Hat Tricks play in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and have tapped into Danbury hockey culture and lore in recent years, inheriting many of the Trasher’s most passionate fans. The team has also made new fans with its rowdy, but still family-friendly gameday environment and success: in the 2022-2023 season when they took home the league’s Commissioner’s Cup. This season, Hat Tricks and Trasher’s history has become even more entwined thanks to Galante coming on board as the team’s general manager.
Last year, Galante served as a special advisor to the Hat Tricks, and that experience inspired him to come back in a more direct role. He says returning to professional hockey in such a major way has brought up a mix of emotions. “It’s definitely surreal,” he says. “It’s an honor. It’s very humbling to know people still think highly of me and my decision-making.”
Hockey fans in Connecticut and beyond have been excited by Galante’s return to professional hockey, but there’s more to going to a Hat Tricks game than the game itself, says Doug Lattuca a broadcaster and director of communications for the Danbury Hat Tricks. Breaks in the game are filled with family-friendly activities such as the “Chick-fil-A Cow race,” “Todd Maserati Alpha Romeo of Danbury Chuck-a-Puck,” and “Peach Wave of Bethel Find the Yogurt.” There are loads of food and beverage concessions available, and the arena features The Axe Tricks Lounge, which offers local craft beer and is a popular post-game hangout for fans and players. This post-game player availability is another perk of coming to a Hat Tricks game, particularly for kids and die-hard fans of all ages. “After every game, our players come down and they sit at a table and they’ll take pictures and sign autographs,” Lattuca says. “Win, lose, or whatever may be, they’re down there every game to show love to the fans.” The price of attending a game, he adds, is also right. “There’s really not much that you can do for a family that’s under $20 a person nowadays.”
As for what happens on the ice during the game, Galante is excited for some of the younger players he’s brought in this year, but stopped short of promising a return to as many fights as the Trashers were known for at their games. “The world is different. The sport is different. It’s not as rough and tumble as it used to be, but I do believe there’s a place for physicality,” Galante says. “A lot of people remember the Trashers for their hard-nosed style and the fights and everything else. That’s still part of hockey, maybe not as much as it once was, but it’s still part of it.”
The game isn’t the only thing that has changed. “I definitely feel more pressure now than when I was a teenager,” Galante says. As an adult now, Galante feels a responsibility to give back to Danbury hockey fans who have given him so much and with whom he has grown up. “We have so many people that I know their families, I know their kids and grandkids,” he says. “Without the fans, the Trashers would have been nothing. Everyone always talks about what we’ve done for the fans, but what the fans have done personally for me, motivating me, energizing me—I feel a responsibility to help do my part, to put the best product on the ice for them.” •
