Link Gaetz

Link Gaetz
Date of birth	2nd October 1968
place of birth	Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada
size	190 cm
Weight	109 kg
position	defender
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1988 , 2nd round, 40th position Minnesota North Stars
Career stations
1986-1987	New Westminster Bruins Delta Flyers
1987-1988	Spokane Chiefs
1988-1990	Minnesota North Stars
1990-1991	Kansas City Blades Kalamazoo Wings
1991-1992	San Jose Sharks
1992-1994	Nashville Knights
1994-1995	San Antonio Iguanas
1995-1996	San Francisco Spiders
1996-1997	Madison Monsters
1997-1998	Anchorage Aces
1998-1999	Toledo Storm
2001-2002	Promutuel de Rivière-du-Loup
2002-2003	Prédateurs de Granby Paramédic du Saguenay
2003-2004	Promutuel de Rivière-du-Loup Vikings de Trois-Rivières Mission de Saint-Jean
2004-2005	Prolab de Thetford Mines

Link Gaetz (born October 2, 1968 in Vancouver , British Columbia ) is a former Canadian ice hockey defender who made a name for himself as a so-called " Goon ". During his career he played for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey League .

Career

Link Gaetz has been playing ice hockey in organized teams since he was seven years old. 1986/87 he played in the Canadian Junior League WHL for the New Westminster Bruins , as well as for two lower class teams. He played rather inconspicuously and hardly caused a stir. It wasn't until the following season with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL that he drew attention to himself. He scored 29 points in 59 games, but it was the 313 penalty minutes that stood out.

He was selected a little later in the NHL Entry Draft in 1988 by the Minnesota North Stars in the second round at position 40. Lou Nanne , then General Manager of the team, later commented on the election in the Entry Draft: “In the first round we brought in Mike Modano to protect the franchise . In the second round, Link was brought in to protect Mike Modano. In the third round we should have brought in a lawyer to protect Link. "

In 1988/89 and 1989/90 Gaetz came to a total of 17 missions in the National Hockey League , after which he only played with the farm teams of the North Stars. In the summer of 1991, a new NHL franchise was created with the San Jose Sharks , which Link Gaetz signed via the 1991 NHL Dispersal Draft . He then played the 1991/92 season with the Sharks and was able to achieve six goals and as many assists. He was also in the penalty box for 326 minutes.

In April 1992, Gaetz was involved in a serious car accident as a passenger, in which he sustained a brain injury. The accident marked a turning point in his career as he never got back into shape to play in the NHL. In the fall of 1993 he was transferred to the Edmonton Oilers for a ten-round draft pick, where he was only allowed on the ice for the farm team in the AHL . He first came into conflict with the law that same year when he broke into the apartment of a former roommate, stole the television and urinated on the bed.

In the following years he played in insignificant lower class leagues and had to leave some teams prematurely because of his indiscipline. From 2001 he played in the Canadian province of Québec for small ice hockey teams . In five years he was active for a total of seven teams and ended his career in 2005.

Link Gaetz was known as a so-called "Goon" whose main task is to protect the stars of his own team and to foul players of the opposing team. In the 1991/92 season he set a franchise record with the San Jose Sharks with 326 penalty minutes in just 48 games, which is still in existence today.

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	3	65	6th	8th	14th	412
Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-	-

Web links

• Link Gaetz at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Link Gaetz at hockeydb.com (English)