| Link Gaetz | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 2, 1968 Vancouver, BC, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 240 lb (109 kg; 17 st 2 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | Minnesota North Stars San Jose Sharks |
| NHL Draft | 40th overall, 1988 Minnesota North Stars |
| Playing career | 1988–2007 |
Link Gaetz, aka "the Missing Link", (born October 2, 1968 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former professional ice hockey player known for his battles when he was an up-and-coming enforcer in the National Hockey League and his troubles on and off the ice while in the minor leagues. Throughout his career he battled with alcoholism which was the main factor in his demise from the NHL.
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Link Gaetz was drafted in the 2nd round, 40th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. According to former North Stars General Manager Lou Nanne, Gaetz was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as protection for Mike Modano, Minnesota's #1 overall pick that year[1]. Four months after being drafted by the North Stars, Gaetz was arrested and charged with drunk driving on October 13, 1988[2].During his brief time with the North Stars, Gaetz wore #36, used Cooper equipment, and used a Canadien 6001 wood stick.[3][4] 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.
On April 2, 1992 at 10am,[5] 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 semi-comatose 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. On September 10, 1993, Sharks General Manager Dean Lombardi decided that he had enough, and traded the 23-year-old defenseman to the Edmonton Oilers for a tenth round pick in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft[2]. "I'm just throwing my hands in the air" is how Lombardi described Gaetz's off the ice issues. From there Gaetz would never play another game in the NHL and found himself playing in a wide variety of cities and leagues all over Canada and the United States. The Sharks used the tenth round pick (240th overall) to draft Tomas Pisa.
Gaetz played only 65 career NHL games, but he accumulated 412 penalty minutes while playing for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks. He would later go on to play in various low level pro leagues across North America over the next 15 years,[6] including time with the North American League, Central Hockey League, Sunshine Hockey League, West Coast Hockey League, American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League, International Hockey League, Colonial Hockey League, Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League (Now the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey) and the short lived Canadian Elite Hockey League. He also spent some time in 1994 with Roller Hockey International playing 8 games (1G, 3A, 4PTS, 46 PIM) for the Sacramento River Rats where he was kicked off the team for beating up the trainer[7]
When he was playing with the Thetford Mines Prolab of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) in 2004–05. On March 13, 2005, in a game against the Verdun Dragons, 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.[8][9]
Gaetz was one of two former NHL players to take part in the Battle of the Hockey Enforcers, a made-for-TV event held in July 2005 which featured enforcers from various minor leagues fighting on ice in full equipment as if they were in a game-time matchup. Gaetz's opening matchup was against then-Sherbrooke St-Francois forward Steve Reid. Gaetz would go down twice in the opening round and did not participate past the opening fight due to "concussion-like symptoms"[10]
Currently a film about Link's career, and life is in development. Gaetz has not played professional hockey since 2007 and has since retired from the sport. As of March 2010, Link has been working on a pipeline in Fort MacMurray, Alberta. The film will detail Link's playing days in the NHL as well as the minors, and his tragic accident.[11]
