For writer Matt Caputo, hockey heaven isn't in Montreal, Edmonton or Boston. It's in Danbury, Connecticut, which is about ninety minutes north of NYC and an hour south of Hartford. Caputo, an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut, is the Damon Runyon of Danbury hockey. Most recently, for the New York Post, Caputo wrote about the first Hawaiian male to play professional hockey. "The Flyin' Hawaiian" plays for the Danbury Hat Tricks, Danbury's current minor league team. You might be familiar with Danbury from the very entertaining Netflix documentary, Crimes and Penalties. A cross between Slap Shot and The Sopranos, the doc chronicles the trials and tribulations of the Danbury Trashers, the now defunct ultra-popular minor league team. Matt took a few moments to discuss his passion for Danbury hockey and a few other fun things.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
So, what made you go all in on Danbury hockey? Describe the magic.
MATT CAPUTO:
Before I get into that, I want to thank you for the invitation to chat with Stadium Journey. I’m in awe of everything the site does to support true sports fans. Being a frequent reader, this is so humbling. To answer your question, I was 25 years old and working at the New York Daily News and a former editor there, Bruce Diamond, tapped me on the shoulder - very much like a hockey coach might - and asked me if I’d be interested in trying out for a new Brooklyn-based pro hockey team playing at the Aviator Sports Center at Floyd Bennett Field. The thing was, I hadn’t played hockey in over a decade and even though I had absolutely no equipment, I told Bruce I’d go try out for the team that Sunday. The next day, a buddy drove me all over Brooklyn to find new equipment and my first pair of hockey skates in ages. I skated around a bit, tried some drills, but the whole thing was crazy. The league, the Northeast Professional Hockey League (NEPHL), was a mess from the start. The season started with three teams, and it was a disaster. Danbury wasn’t in the league, but during the tryout, I learned that the city had evolved into this low-level minor league hockey hot bed in the wake of the Trashers. After the Trashers, people kept trying to start low-level leagues with Danbury as the anchor location of the circuit. When the NEPHL folded, Brooklyn joined the newly forming Federal Hockey League where the Danbury Whalers would take the ice. I knew Danbury from having gone to college there for one year back in 2002-2003, and as I started driving up there to check out games, I realized the community had been deeply impacted by the independent pro hockey culture. Eventually, I convinced a great editor I worked with at Penthouse, John Bolster, to let me write a story that focused on the Danbury Whalers and the lives of the players, staff and fans. I spent a long weekend wandering around the city and hanging out in the rink. I found the people there to have been deeply impacted by the pro hockey tradition that started with the Trashers. I wanted to write about how something so far from the spectacle of big-league sports could fill hearts and win minds. Danbury hockey might not be the stuff of the New York Rangers, but there’s no convincing the local fans that the NHL is more important. So, Penthouse was sold in a sealed plastic bag at newsstands and bookstores so that you couldn’t just look through the mag and check out the article. It was a shame because people knew about it but could not find it in most cases. The story never appeared online. Late last year, I worked with Dominick Alessandro – a graphic designer and artist who created the Trashers logo and has worked with corporate clients like Pepsi, Colgate and Goya – to re-release the article as a limited edition zine. The first 50 sold raised $1,000 for the Danbury Hat Tricks Booster Club. We brought the story out for its 10-year anniversary. It’s available on Etsy. In 2021, the Trashers documentary, Untold: Crimes and Penalties, came out on Netflix, and I wrote a story for Connecticut Magazine that aimed at bringing people up to date with the story of Danbury hockey. It was like the Penthouse story but set in the 2021-2022 season. I have also written stories about or related to Danbury hockey for the New York Post and The Hockey News. Right then, I decided I was going to write a book about the Hat Tricks. I went on a few road trips at the end of that season, but ultimately set the book during the next season, wherein Danbury won it all. I pretended to be the equipment manager for the Hat Tricks and rode along for most of the road games the second half the year and mingled with the fans at home games all season. We’re looking for a publisher.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Why should someone put the Danbury Ice Arena on their stadium bucket list? What's so special?
MATT CAPUTO:
The first thing that comes to mind is the intimacy of the venue itself. There are a lot of great views of the ice. When the Federal League started, Danbury Arena was probably the biggest venue in the league and today it’s one of the smallest. Still, I think every team in the league would rather own a building with a capacity for 2,500 people than rent a much larger venue like other teams do. In Danbury, we’re right on top of the action. The fans sitting in Section 102 have full-on conversations and arguments with players from the other team. This season, an opposing coach threw a water bottle at those fans. During the championship season, I often sat in Section 200 – across from the bleachers – where we the fans are merciless in their pursuit of chirping the opposition. One night, Donnie Olivieri of the Binghamton Black Bears was waiting for the puck to drop. I decided that uttering the “You’re out of your element, Donnie” line from The Big Lebowski would be appropriate, but it backfired. Olivieri scored right off the faceoff and pointed right up at me, placing his index finger over his lips to symbolize that he’d silenced the crowd.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
What are some must-try spots to pre-game in Danbury?
MATT CAPUTO:
If I’m looking for pizza, I go to Stanziato’s Wood Fired Pizza where they have a fantastic menu, super-friendly staff and a pizza named after me. The “Prof. Caputo” combines red, vodka and pesto sauces on one tasty pie. There’s TK’s American Café, which is one of Connecticut’s all-time great sports bars. There are like two dozen TVs, 76 flavors of chicken wings and sports stuff everywhere. Lastly, a lot of the diehards go to the Polish American Citizens Club on Ives Street, where, if you’re in the loop, you can enjoy cheap beers and eats in a really cool clubhouse setting.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Where do you go if you want to hang with players after the game? And will the players give regular Joes the time of day?
MATT CAPUTO:
Danbury Arena opened a great axe throwing lounge in a space that was once used for storage on the second floor of the arena. It’s called the Axe Tricks Lounge, and the fans who are truly invested in the team mingle there with the players after every game. The Hat Tricks do a great job visiting schools and connecting with kids after the game, but the players in Danbury have always been great about mingling with fans. There are some tight friendships between current and former players and fans of the team.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
As far as the morning after the game, is there a go-to spot to refuel?
MATT CAPUTO:
Holiday Diner is one place you wouldn’t leave hungry; they have classic diner food and milkshakes the kids love.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
How similar is the Hat Tricks' Federal Prospects Hockey League to the one portrayed in Slap Shot?
MATT CAPUTO:
The Fed is an independent professional sports league. It governs itself. Just like in Slap Shot, we see player-coaches and all the crazy travel that goes into a league that now stretches from Michigan to Mississippi. That said, there’s freedom and creativity in the Fed, it’s not ruled by commercial and corporate interests like the big leagues are. That liberty translates into a lot of fun for fans. It might not be the highest level of player, but it helps players, coaches, broadcasters, sales people and others advance to better jobs.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Connecticut has become a hub for elite college hockey. Quinnipiac, UConn and Sacred Heart look like sure things to make the NCAA tournament this year. Yale won the national title in 2013. What's unique about each of these institution's hockey facilities?
MATT CAPUTO:
I had the chance to write about the Quinnipiac, UCONN and Sacred Heart arenas for Connecticut Magazine a couple of years ago. They are all great places to see games, though I don’t get into college hockey as much. I think what makes them unique is that they are part of a new era of college sports. College hockey, and college soccer, to a degree, have always been a little under-utilized by the NCAA. There’s a lot more buzz around college hockey now that all those Connecticut schools have their own on-campus rinks.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
And your school, Western Connecticut AKA WestConn, is starting a hockey team this year. What can fans expect?
MATT CAPUTO:
WestConn has a long tradition of doing college athletics the right way and I expect nothing less. I’m not aware of all the details yet, but I know they plan to play at Danbury Ice Arena. WestConn football and basketball have always enjoyed local support, and I feel strongly that people will support an NCAA DIII hockey team. I’m looking forward to checking it out. (Editor's Note: Western Connecticut will be joining the newly-formed Little East Hockey Conference for the 2025-2026 season along with several other D-III colleges from throughout New England, including UMass Dartmouth, where Stadium Journey President Paul Baker works as an announcer. Instant rivalry.)
STADIUM JOURNEY:
You're a Queens, New York native, and you've also written about Mets fandom. What do you most remember about Shea Stadium - good, bad, ugly?
MATT CAPUTO:
The good has always been that I can get there quickly: Q47 bus right outside my front door went to the 7 Train and I could be at Shea inside a half hour. I always felt like the dimensions were bad; it had a deep outfield that seemed a little unorthodox, but it was a great place to watch a game, and the energy could reach a frenzy if the team was winning. I remember once giving an usher $5 to let us sit in box seats right before a terrible downpour and rain delay. We were soaking wet just waiting for the Mets and Expos to start playing again. When they did, it felt like there were only 500 people there. The ugliest nights I can remember at Shea Stadium were on the Irish-themed nights when the legendary Irish rock band Black 47 played. Nico Wormworth was their manager; his father was the great jazz drummer Jimmy Wormworth, I remember grabbing his attention during Black 47’s set and chatting with him. The crowd there was crazy and relentless during the entire night, people were urinating everywhere instead of using the restrooms.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
You wrote a well-known piece for The New York Times on emergency goalies. Has an emergency goalie ever been upgraded to a team regular? What's the greatest emergency goalie success story?
MATT CAPUTO:
Sure, in some cases, emergency goalies are often younger players or less experienced guys who are trying to get their chance. Obviously, that’s mostly in the minor leagues. In the NHL, I don’t think any emergency goalie has been invited to training camp or back to the show in any way. Dave Ayers, who drove the ice-resurface machine for the Maple Leafs, got into the game for the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2019-20 season and helped them defeat the team he worked for. Mostly, that story is about how people live their life and how they spend their time. It’s what I like to write about.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Of course we had to ask. With hockey booming in Connecticut, is there any chance that the Whalers make a return to the nutmeg state?
MATT CAPUTO:
There’s no doubt that people love hockey here, but there are a few things working against it. First: Hartford has a great new AA baseball stadium, a fantastic set-up for USL soccer and there’s still a fanbase for the Wolf Pack. Obviously, you’ve also got UCONN men’s and women’s basketball, as well as football playing in the city. There are some, but not a ton, of corporate interests who could support an NHL team. I think when the NHL looks at expansion, they’re looking at places where the population is growing. People forget that Phoenix was one of the fastest growing cities in Americaat one point. What Hartford does have working for it is that the love of hockey that is so strong in the area. If Springfield Mass and New Haven are counted in the metroplex, then you’ve got a region where there's a strong base of genuine hockey devotion. The Boston Bruins will probably never let it happen, but it never made sense to me that the New York City metropolitan area has three teams, and New England has but one. I’ve heard the Governor has had serious talks with the NHL about what it would take, but that’s the last I’ve heard of anything solid.
Matt Caputo can be found on Instagram @MattCaputo
Jon Hart is @manversusball
Comments