Gaetz
 

How good could this Monster have been? Does he fall in the same category as Gasoff or is that pure blasphemy? I know the Stars were very high on his upside considering he was picked in the 2nd round. They took him ahead of guys like Mogilny, Amonte and Recchi. How good could he have been without all that baggage?

Gaetz was drafted in the 2nd round, 40th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. According to then-North Stars' General Manager Lou Nanne, Gaetz was intended to provide on-ice protection for forward Mike Modano, Minnesota's #1 overall pick that year.

He was very good, super tough, and nasty but he had a screw loose that prevented him from fulfilling his potential.

He had some losses early on to Kocur and Probert and there is certainly no shame in that, he gave both all they could handle but he proved he could stand in there with the big dogs.

Kind of a shame it is with Gaetz, he probably could have had a long, eventful NHL career but he chose to walk a different path, definitely to the beat of his own drum.

You pose an interesting question about Gassoff in your original post. The problem in any discussion about Gassoff is that although there is no doubt that he was great and there are lots of stories but very little footage. He is much like Battleship Kelly or Jack Carlson.

In regards to the "Missing Link" to me there is no doubt that he could have been an all time great. In the WHL he put a severe pounding on Tony Twist. In his short NHL career he had a great toe to toe bout with Probert 2 great fights with Kocur in one of them he stood in there and took a few flush right hand bombs from Kocur and didnt quit on the fight or go down.

He also dropped the very tough Randy McKay

I don't have Link's win loss percentage in the NHL in front of me but on first glance I def agree with your premise. His career in the NHL was cut far too short due to his own antics but he continued to be a force in the Minor Pro leagues and the Quebec Semi Pro league for sure

His draft picture is a classic he is sporting 2 black eyes. I am sure someone has a link to an article or something.

Great thread

I've seen it written sometimes that he had some actual hockey skills before the accident and the subsequent descension into OTT goonery.. is that true, elders?

I think he had skills, Tony Twist told me he did when I had a couple beers with him in a bar my Cousin owned. The thing is he didn't know me from a hole in the wall and I don't think he would have told me Link was horrible if he indeed was.

He spoke about a fight in the IHL where he got the better of Link I wish there was footage of that one

Yeah I've read it before that he had a pretty decent shot from the blue line not sure how reliable or true that is though

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0...c1zwo1_400.jpg
also in his sanjose team photo for pinnacle hockey cards
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...inkGaetz-1.jpg

my brother used to work along side him at dicks lumber in surrey.

Hard telling how great Link could have been. His bout with Probert was epic. I remember having his hockey card(Score or Pro Set) I forget which. I remember reading back in the day that the North Stars cared enough about him to get him help, but he was pretty self destructive.

Gassoff was a hockey player who played to the edge. He was also a great teammate!
Gaetz was a moron dope who was a bad teammate and was never an asset! He is a Steve Durbano, not a Bob Gassoff! Emile Francis has spoken that if Gassoff had lived, he would of been the Blues Captain one day!
Nick Fotiu has told many stories about what a bad teammate that Gaetz was looking to hurt his own team in practice and Fotiu having to try to bring him back to sanity!
I don't see any comparison between Gassoff and Gaetz except that both played defense, shot left handed, were fighters, and had the letter G to start their last names!
Gassoff was an asset, Gaetz was an idiot like a Durbano!

*Even before Gaetz went off the deep end? You're telling me Gaetz never had a chance to be an "asset"? Was he simply a born loser or did his stock tumble post draft? When exactly did he go from #40th pick overall( picked ahead of a few HOFer's) to Durbano?

HQ: Link Gaetz career HL - YouTube

Just scary!

What did he do to get kicked out of the NHL?

He wasn't kicked out of the NHL, he was in a major car accident and never recovered enough to make it back to the show.