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Sunshine didn’t stop 3 Phantoms from ice dreams
By matthew peaslee
youngstown
A trip to a Carolina Hurricanes game for his sixth birthday wasn’t just a one-day present for Sean Romeo.
Romeo, a Cary, N.C., native and Phantoms goaltender, never really paid attention to hockey until his neighbors offered to take him to a game on Nov. 7, 2001 — when he turned 6.
“Ever since then, I’ve loved hockey,” Romeo said.
He’s not the only Phantom from the Sunbelt. Born in Michigan and New Jersey, respectively, defenseman Jordan Young and forward Austin Cangelosi moved with their families to greener and sunnier pastures in their youth. Young found a home in Cave Creek, AZ, while Cangelosi resided in Florida.
“My parents were just sick of the cold and snow in Jersey,” Cangelosi said.
Romeo started out playing recreational roller hockey with his buddies and didn’t take to the ice until he was 10. With a history as a forward in little league soccer, Romeo figured he’d keep that role as a hockey player.
“I wanted to be a goal scorer,” he said. “But I didn’t I score once my first season, so I figured being a goalie was just for me — turns out it has been.”
Young had been playing competitively for two years before the move and picked up right where he left off by joining a junior team affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes.
“They have a good junior program that is well known so I got involved with that and hockey has stuck with me ever since,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the Junior Coyotes, I probably would’ve given up hockey altogether and just played baseball.”
At the time, NHL legend Wayne Gretzky was coaching the Coyotes. Gretzky still lives in the Glendale area and Young met “The Great One” on a handful of occasions.
“One of my friend’s dad works for the team so he got us an in a few times,” Young said. “He’s always on the rink skating around.”
It may be hard to believe, but Cangelosi didn’t bring any hockey influence with him from N.J. — he picked it up all on his own in the Sunshine State.
“I never really expected to play hockey,” Cangelosi said. “I was just living the Florida life.”
But he found a rink and skated there for fun until a coach had him try out for a travel team when he was 8. It eventually led him to Mount Hermon Prep School in Massachusetts. There, Cangelosi got a real taste of competitive hockey, but the real challenge was making a name for himself.
“There’s such a stereotype with Florida guys,” Cangelosi said. “I’m just playing to maybe get rid of that stereotype and proving people wrong.”
With eight goals and 11 points, it’s safe to say he has.
Along with Romeo and Young, also, the trio shows that hockey needs no background check.