Link Gaetz

Link Gaetz, aka "the Missing Link," (born 2 October, 1968 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player known for his battles as an up-and-coming enforcer in the National Hockey League and his troubles on and off the ice while in the minor leagues.

NHL career

Link Gaetz was drafted in the 2nd round, 40th overall in the 1988 NHL Amateur Draft. Gaetz was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as protection for Mike Modano, Minnesota's #1 overall pick that year. During his brief time with the North Stars, Gaetz wore #36, used Cooper equipment, and used a Canadien 6001 wood stick. [http://www.geocities.com/linkgaetz23/new_link_northstars_sepia.jpg] [http://www.geocities.com/linkgaetz23/linkprospectscard.gif] . After 17 games over two seasons with the Minnesota North Stars, Gaetz was lost to the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 Expansion Draft and quickly became a fan favorite. He played only 65 career NHL games, but he accumulated 412 penalty minutes while playing for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks.

Accident

On April 2, 1992 at 10am [http://chuqui.typepad.com/two_for_elbowing/hockey/] , when Gaetz was thrown from the passenger seat of a Camaro driven by a friend, Patrick Bell. Bell, later charged with driving under the influence, had lost control on an off-ramp at 80 mph. Gaetz arrived at the Peninsula Hospital with back and facial injuries, and was semicomatose for eight days. His mother, Sonja Koskinen, flew down from Vancouver to hear doctors say her son might die. His brain stem had been injured, and Gaetz awoke with his left side partially paralyzed and no memory of the accident. He left the hospital after six weeks. Over the next two months, he worked with therapists to regain movement and speech, and he confounded doctors by returning to the ice late that summer, skating twice daily. Gaetz would later be released from the hospital but several months later would later be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. General Manager Dean Lombardi decided that he had enough, and traded the 23 year old defenseman to the Oilers. "I'm just throwing my hands in the air" is how Lombardi described Gaetz's off the ice issues. Gaetz hasn't played in the NHL again but would go on to play in various semi-pro leagues across North America over the next 13 years. [http://www.geocities.com/linkgaetz23/legendoflink.htm]

RHI career

Link also played Roller Hockey for the Sacramento River Rats of the RHI during the 1994 season, appearing in 8 games, and scoring 1 goal and 3 assists, while accumulating 46 PIM.

The Hamburger Incident

He last appeared playing with the Thetford Mines Prolab of the LNAH in 2004-05. On March 13th, 2005, in a game versus the Verdun Dragons of the LNAH, Gaetz did not take a shift during the first or second period. During the second intermission, Gaetz changed out of his jersey and skates and went out to the concession stand to buy a hamburger and "promptly ate it." Thetford Mines Prolab considered this disrespectful to the players, and suspended Gaetz for the remainder of the season. He is pretty much a fat slob loser who has no self respect [http://www.theiceblock.com/index.php?/hockey/entry/link-gaetz-suspended-for-the-rest-of-the-season/]

Current Status

Gaetz has not played played professional hockey since 2005 and has since retired from hockey. As of September 2008, Gaetz was working as a labourer in Alberta's booming construction industry,

Career Statistics

References