Steve Galiardi



Steven Preston Galiardi (born March 7, 1971 in Fort Lee, New Jersey) is a former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the Bergen County Family Hockey League. He played for the Nashville Pigs and Paramus Pioneers. However, Galiardi injured his leg in the 2009 Fun Plaza fire, which ultimately ended his playing career.

Personal Life
Galiardi is married to Henrietta (born April 12, 1970) since 1992 and they have a son named Daniel (born August 5, 1993).

Galiardi's parents are Tino (born August 2, 1945) and Rachel (born July 4, 1946) and he has three siblings; Mario (born September 1, 1969), Elaine (born June 15, 1968), and Theresa (born October 14, 1972).

Playing career
Galiardi was first drafted to the Paramus Pioneers in 1988 and helped them reach two back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. He played on the team from 1988-1993, where he was considered one of the team's top defenseman for most hits in a game. In early 1993, Galiardi was traded to the Nashville Pigs and helped the team make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. He also led the Pigs to the Championship Finals for the first time in 1997, but the team ultimately lost to their rival, the New Jersey Griffins 4 games to 1. He also helped the Pigs make the playoffs nine more times, which included four trips to the Conference Finals.

Fun Plaza fire injury
Galiardi went to Fun Plaza with his family while on vacation on June 9, 2009. After signing a few autographs from some fans, Galiardi saw flames coming out of the walls and he and his family immediately evacuated the building. Galiardi's wife and son were unharmed, but one piece of the building fell on his leg, injuring it, which ended his playing career. He spent four weeks at San Francisco General Hospital and was then released. Galiardi's leg was mostly healed and he could walk mostly fine, but the doctors ordered him not to do any extreme physical activity for the rest of his life.

Coaching career
Between 2011-2013, Galiardi was the assistant coach for the New Jersey Griffins, but was fired following the 2012-13 season as the team missed the playoffs back to back years.

On August 8, 2023, Galiardi was named head coach of the Paramus Pioneers.

Awards

 * BCFHL Championships: 1989 & 1990 (Paramus)
 * Don Hester Award (awarded to the league's most outstanding defenseman): 1989, 1990, 1992 (Paramus), 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997 (Nashville)
 * BCFHL All Star Game: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
 * BCFHL Plus-Minus Award: 1989, 1990, 1997
 * BCFHL Rookie of the Year: 1989