"He was the SCARIEST Hockey Player there Ever Was," said one Enforcer

Link Gaetz was only in the NHL for 65 games, but he quickly asserted himself as one of the toughest enforcers of the era - if not all-time. Playing for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks, he held his own against the league's most infamous bruisers including Bob Probert, Mike Peluso, Kelly Buchberger, Joey Kocur, and more. In this video, we'll explore Gaetz's hockey career, including his rise to the NHL, and some of his most damaging struggles off the ice. What other players & topics throughout hockey history should I cover? Feel free to drop a suggestion in the Comments!
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[@TwistedWristerHockey]

Thanks for watching, Twisters! These types of videos are my absolute favorite to produce, but in order to keep dedicating myself to this full-time, I need help. In short, I'm interested in knowing how many viewers may be interested in supporting the channel as an investor - someone who makes a one-time contribution and earns back a small percentage of the channel's revenue. If you have any interest in helping this way, head over to twistedwrister.oversubscribe.co/ to indicate that you'd hypothetically consider investing in our channel & community. Oh, and if you like fights and hockey history, don't miss my video on the crazy Nordiques-Canadiens rivalry of the 80s kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoLGZqKPrpuja68

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

@TwistedWristerHockey Good work on getting all the clips for the Link video here & telling a succinct yet compelling overview/summary of Link up to date as far as you could find. For an update/epilogue to your good video, I note here that Link spent this past winter working at a coal mine in British Columbia. He phone called me today & I saw him in person as recently as last Sunday March 17 2024 for lunch at a Dairy Queen. Link & I became acquainted during the winter of 2015-2016, and built up a friendship since then, that includes going for lunches, & texting & phone calls with the conversation usually being about warfare history. However, I do have about 20 audio-taped interviews I did with Link about hockey - along with screenshots of our hockey talk texts - as part of Link and I picking away at creating a Link memoir. Link is concerned he'll have premature memory loss because of his many concussions, so to catch Link's still clear memories, I've been inputting Link's memoir in progress into my laptop. Link this past week in a different phone call discussed with me how many NHLers from his era & earlier ended up impoverished &/or in chronic pain. In Link's case his decades of hockey battered physique has since hockey had almost 2 decades of hard labor jobs (plus earlier labor jobs that were sprinkled in during his hockey career) add to the wear & tear to the point of chronic pain, but also help keep him big & strong. Link likes fighting but never boasts to me about fights he's had, including multiple in his age 50s, e.g. alone vs. a bar manager & the bouncers (he's 55 now). He'll just say a fight kicked off, and he'll tell me if he got yet another assault charge. But he won't detail the fighting action. Fighting is I think for Link central to his essence, but he doesn't discuss it with bravado. Link is a humble predator of predators. Link told me he learned second hand as a youth to never boast about one's own fighting prowess. He said he was at a party as a teenager, where a dude was bragging about his fighting skills to the point he got tested - and pummeled. Seeing that dude get humble pied impressed upon Link to never boast about fighting. Here's two verbatim Link quotes he said a few years ago in his early 50s: "I like to booze & brawl" & "Rules are meant to be broken" Cheers, Rainer 'Rain' Stratkotter - Link & I invite people to e-mail their Link stories to us at [e-mail] if you'd like them to be potentially added to his memoir. Thank-you 🍀

[@rickszabo4312]

Met Link and his 2 brothers while working at an underground mine in Germanson Landing B.C. in 1985 their Dad was a very big man and the mine supervisor, his mom was an RCMP officer in Boston Bar at that time , Link was only 16 at the time and was working there for a summer job , his older brother Lonnie and me would tease Link a bit but we knew not to poke the bear to hard. It was not to long there at the mine the toughest guy at the site ,we called him Crazy Jack, real first name John , got at it and Link beat the Crap out of 40 year old built like Paul Bunyon Crazy Jack. His brothers were the exact opposite of Link. Hope they are all doing well .

[@cormorant_on_arock7934]

cool story! thanks! makes sense, the last thing you said. siblings can oftentimes be sooooo different

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

@rickszabo4312 Hi Rick I sent Link your Crazy Jack & Link story today, and he then called me to tell me your story is correct, and he added that Crazy Jack & him became friends after that scrap.

[@user-mw5vd2bi6w]

I had partial season tickets to the Sharks first season, I saw most of his fights. He was scary. I also heard the stories about how kind he was to kids.

[@johnpetrick6396]

I was one of those kids. He was really nice, funny and signed autographs for us. Sad to think he struggled so much.

[@Skinnyd4]

I'm not shocked to hear that an on-ice enforcer is a real nice guy off it. I mean, afterall, they have a way to get their aggression out, so... yeah - it makes perfect sense.

[@rossogden9920]

I was a San Antonio Iguana's season ticket holder during Link's time with the team. We had a decent team, and a skilled front line, but they were undersized and could be taken out of their game by physical play from the other team. If I remember correctly, we picked up Link in the middle of the season. Overnight the ice opened up for our little guys, and they had all the space in the World to operate. No one from any of the other teams would risk going anywhere near our little guys, for fear of having to deal with Link. It didn't matter. He still came up with a reason to fight every game. 🤣 It was great fun for the 13 games that it lasted.

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

@rossogden9920 Link called me today & I most recently saw him in person for lunch at a Dairy Queen last Sunday March 17 2024 in Edmonton. Link spent the past winter working at a coal mine in B.C. He's 55 now & at lunch last week told me he's currently 260 pounds big & strong looking as usual. I've been meeting up with Link starting winter 2015-2016. Most of our conversations are about warfare history, not hockey. He never boasts to me about any of his fighting history. He's very humble about that.

[@rudetunes6564]

I played beer league hockey in the late 80's early 90's..One of the guys on our team was a good friend of Link, Link was playing with the Sharks at the time. It was the all star break in the NHL. I guess Link was home for a few days, we had a game and when I walked into the dressing room, Link was in the room dressing up for our game. I played defence and I was paired with Link for the game. He was a Monster , the guy was huge..but on the other hand, he was a real nice guy, when asked about his fights in the NHL he was real humble.. He played the game without incident and really impressed us with his hockey skill.

[@crushingalldeceivers]

In Pitt Meadows?

[@rudetunes6564]

Yes Pit Meadows.@@crushingalldeceivers

[@jeffmoser2761]

Thats a great story...where was the Game? Eastridge or Valco?

[@NHL94Podcast]

The NHL '94 theme makes it into this video at the 3:40 mark Nice touch 😀

[@kenamaro3942]

When Link was with the Sharks and after his car accident I met him. He was wandering around the audience seating area in the Cow palace during a Sharks game. I went up to him ,introduced myself and we shook hands. He autographed the brim of my Sharks cap. I noticed that one of his eyes sort of looked in another direction while we were talking. He loved his fans I guess because I'm still alive to write about it.

[@GassersGhost]

Look up Bob Gassoff, #3 St. Louis Blues. Not much out there, but He was OUR guy.

[@Kryptic1046]

Man Kocur rocked Gaetz in that one. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

[@IHaveTheSchwartz]

Kocur can't feel his right hand - Nerve Damage.

[@Kryptic1046]

@@IHaveTheSchwartz - Some of the people he hit with it can still feel it to this day though.

[@worer850]

I do have propert as the goat enforcer. He could fight like no other and actually score. If Probert fought any player more than twice, he eventually beat them up after that.

[@Kryptic1046]

@@worer850 Probert was the better fighter overall (the best ever imo), but Kocur was more dangerous in a short encounter. Joey broke bones and ended careers with his mortar shell right. He was a pretty solid player too with a great shot. He had a 16 goal 20 assist season in '89 and was a good playoff performer. Still though, Probert was undoubtedly the better player and I agree he was the best and most respected enforcer ever. Some of his fights are legendary.

[@matthewwichtner2935]

Absolutely!😮

[@thewintergardener2873]

I met Link back in around 92-93.. I was a partner in a Sports Bar in West Palm Beach that sponsored a local team called the Palm Beach Blaze in a tiny league called the Sunshine Hockey League... There were only 5 or 6 teams... He played a handful of games then went on his way.. The players would come into our Bar after games, and he came in a few times.. I've always followed Hockey and was aware who he was... He was actually a really good guy, pretty chill, his speech was still off from his car accident... I talked to him a little, mostly about Walleye fishing, as I'd lived in Minnesota a couple years and he played there for the North stars.. .. I could see how folks would think he was scary... We had quite a few sports celebs come in our place.. The scariest was a professional Polish Heavyweight Boxer named Andrew Golota who did his training in West Palm Beach..... Not a nice guy, rude never tipped..

[@QueensNewYorkguy]

The same Gulotta that was so feared by everyone but quit during a bout with Mike Tyson cause he was getting his butt kicked? Lol if so i can see it! And knew that Tyson butt whooping was his karma for something! Every dog has his day

[@thewintergardener2873]

@@QueensNewYorkguy He had mental problems... The idiot was from Poland and would ride up to our Sports Bar on a Harley Davidson with Swastikas painted on the Fenders... He ended up falling off it several times and totaled it.. The idiot didn't realize Poland was stop #1 on Hitlers World Tour.. Maybe the guy changed as he got older who knows, but he was not likable at the time..

[@MrProng999]

Didn't Golata lose a match because he threw a combo on Riddek Bo's nuts? Or am I thinking of someone else?

[@thewintergardener2873]

@@MrProng999 Yeah that's him..... He was disqualified TWICE! Both times he fought Riddick Bowe he was disqualified for low blows.... And on both occasions Golota was easily winning the fights and aheads on the Judges Scorecards... LOL

[@MrProng999]

@@thewintergardener2873 that was so viscous, I still get chills thinking about it

[@crush42mash6]

I read his book, throwing a TV through the window, and sitting on a motorcycle, shooting a gun at a church bell… Imagine seeing that today in NHL not a chance, there is only one missing Link

[@rrdls19]

which book is that? "Enforcer"?

[@petrisyrja-kokkila7103]

His mother was from Finland and Im a finn. Read an finnish article about 5 nhl players of Finnish ancistery who had very controversial carieers. Link Gaetz was one of them. Link Gaetz was bad for adults but good for children, always going to childrens hospitals, using almost all of his paychecks for presents etc. Often nobody is completely bad, Neither was he.

[@MarkTBird]

I´m already waiting to see Jarkko Ruutu video! Jarkko was The Real Finnish Dude with the eternal twist! :)

[@petrisyrja-kokkila7103]

@@MarkTBird Yeah. Read his book couple years ago. Some funny stuff there and interesting background info.

[@jussik466]

Terve, hyvä Suomi! Missä tällainen artikkeli on ollut?

[@petrisyrja-kokkila7103]

@@jussik466 Tervepä terve. Veikkauksen asiakaslehden sivustolla. Tuli luettua se innolla kun siinä oli mukana Kuortanelaislähtöinen Urho " Earl" Heiskalakin josta tuli Flyersien ensimmäinen gooni. Oon siis ittekin sieltä. Urhon samanniminen isän veli oli Suomen ilmailun pioneerejä ja kaatui talvisodassa puolustaessaan Tamperetta hävittäjän puikoissa. Lisäksi oli ainakin Wayne ja Chico Mäki, Pronger Juha Viding ja joku muukin.

[@petrisyrja-kokkila7103]

@@jussik466 Tervepä terve. Veikkauksen asiakaslehti. Mukana oli lisäksi ainakin Wayne ja Chico Mäki, Juha Viding, Chris Pronger ja näin Kuortanelaisena kiinnosti ennenkaikkea Urho Heiskala jonka sukujuuret ovat täältä. Urhon samanniminen isän veli oli Suomen ilmailun pioneereja ja hän kaatui talvisodassa hävittäjän puikoissa Tamperetta puolustaessaan

[@dietpepsivanilla3095]

Saw the Missing Link a few times when I was going to Los Angeles Kings games frequently. Scary looking guy.

[@thegadflygang5381]

You read Nicky Fotius name then asked who was our favorite enforcer. Nick hands down not even a close second Played for the Rangers when I was born then came back when i started skating. Have a dozen pictures with Fotiu at all those points. As tough as he was he loved the fans more than any player because he appreciated them He loved kids even more. Back when the Rangers had open practices this man would stay after and shoot around with us. Cant be much fun to pass to five year olds but he did it He was a local boy. An actual New Yorker from the Island just like Joe Mullen is from Hells Kitchen on the West Side.

[@qaradigm]

Never even met him and i’m scared of him

[@Mike-yg8ig]

You too?

[@VinnyBarbarino1369]

I worked with him at Oj pipelines about 7 yrs ago. He is a beast and a scary guy. I was lucky enough to be liked by him as we had a few things in common. The first thing I was told by my supervisors,Forman and almost everyone else on my crew, don’t go to the bar with him. EVER!! Hey link if by chance you’re readying this it’s Len you operator at o.j

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

@VinnieBarbarino1369 Hi Len, Link called me today & I most recently saw him in person for lunch at a Dairy Queen last Sunday March 17 2024 in Edmonton. Link spent the past winter working at a coal mine in B.C. He's 55 now & at lunch last week told me he's currently 260 pounds big & strong looking as usual. I've been meeting up with Link starting winter 2015-2016. Most of our conversations are about warfare history, not hockey. He never boasts to me about any of his fighting history. He's very humble about that. A few minutes ago I screen-shotted & text message attached your hello to Link you posted here. He's in Edmonton helping a friend renovate a house while waiting to go to camp in Fort McMurray. Link is not an e-mail or social media guy so he got me to e-mail the NHLPA on his behalf while we were at DQ last Sunday regarding getting his NHLPA pension (65 games pay in) payout + interest. If you want to send Link more detailed greetings &/or work opportunities I can forward them to him. Cheers 🍀

[@fratzogmopars]

A regular Ogie Oglethorpe.

[@sharxfan16]

Link played just 48 games for the Sharks in their inaugural season and amassed 326 penalty minutes, a single season team record that he still holds today. And with the current state of the game, a record that will will likely never be broken.

[@Skinnyd4]

I remember Link Gaetz. I wasn't a Sharks fan, but I tuned in when I could just to see him. Yeah, he was fun to watch.

[@paulkrill8664]

I got his autograph at the Cow Palace once when he was suspended. He looked like he'd just stepped off a Viking ship. Fans loved him during that first year of the Sharks, chanting "Link! Link! Link! Link!"

[@Litewalker71]

Met him about 10 years ago at the Klondike in Edmonton, Alberta... he took quite the step back... Even though he had addiction issues he was always decent to me and I never saw the angry Gaetz, kinda glad I didn't.

[@EarlSkakel]

Talked to him and his mom once over the phone as he wanted to give me some of his gameworn jerseys and man I wish I was recording. His mom told me how misunderstood her son was and then the next day he gets kicked off the LNAH team he was on for a bar fight!

[@marktemple4081]

BOB PROBERT !!! THE BEST FIGHTER ON THE ICE WITHOUT A DOUGHT!!

[@SaintNormRIP]

Domi, Probert, Kocur, Chris Simon, Rob Ray, Marty McSorley, Link and Tony Twist has to easily be the list of most feared enforcers of the 90’s.

[@MrMitchSot]

darren Langdon toke care of all them

[@jamescoleman5317]

LA Kings 1980s guy here. A guy that never gets mentioned but was a warrior and would fight anyone - 3 times a night if they wanted to was Joe Paterson.(left hander also) Another guy that was always ready to fight was Al Tuer. Their fights were slug fests - all offense little defense

[@AlicePearlJam]

I loved Joe Paterson. Jay Wells and Kenny Baumgartner were two of my favorites also.

[@Robert.Lee1989]

Another tough ombré was Steve McLaren.

[@deansullivan6353]

Al Tuer and Joe Paterson , two of my favorites from their time playing in Binghamton in the AHL. Tuer with the Whalers and Paterson with the Rangers. The Rangers were loaded with fighters that year.

[@Slamit88]

@@AlicePearlJam Absolutely James & Alice'!!....... Paterson WAS A GAMER (Sadly, His NHL Career Fight Card was WAY TOO SHORT!! * ) & Of Course ALL (3) 80's ERA Forum Kings!! 👊🔥

[@SaintNormRIP]

Link Gaetz was a tank. Unsung hero of 90’s NHL enforcers.

[@MrRja333]

Kerry “Topper” Toporowski would be a good one to research!! Such a beast!!!

[@TrentBrent-vu6mn]

One of best fights I ever witnessed was Kerry vs Malkoc in Swift.

[@IHaveTheSchwartz]

One word: Twister. Even then, Bob Probert reigns above all.

[@BeEazzzy]

Probert destroyed him in that scrap and Bobby still wanted some more!

[@IHaveTheSchwartz]

Link gets some deserved attention, but it's like people are forgetting how Probert was 'God' level.

[@rodbelding9523]

That was Probert in his prime

[@brentbaker4489]

Reminds me of Steve Durbano

[@basilfromeen]

"Those are fast fists." said everyone who had the nerve to exchange niceties with him.

[@romainlavoie1526]

The 85 / 86 season brought the best in John Kordic. Serge Savard said it best . John's contribution was paramount to the 86 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup. RIP.

[@TrentBrent-vu6mn]

So? This is about Link.

[@romainlavoie1526]

​@TrentBrent-vu6mn idiot . At the end of the document, he asks if there are suggestions we could make for future videos .

[@hanginthere65]

Fun fact..(not so fun??) Link and Johnny K both attended a treatment center for addiction and at the SAME time. They knew each other and by all accounts, got along with each other. Sad news though, apparently neither completed the program...alas, missed opportunities for those two individuals. Hopefully Link is doing alright, now and as for John Kordic, RIP. He was another tough guy, who actually had decent potential and could've been a better player than he was, if not for his demons. 🙏🙏

[@alexandermacdougall7873]

I met him quite a few times after his career ended. At that time,he was trying to get sober. He came across as a nice,but troubled,guy. There was a sadness to him.

[@danielpodjun715]

LOVE the Cortana logo in the bottom corner! ❤

[@EricGarciastussy]

Link was a bad bad man.. I've never seen anyone handle Tony Twist like that.. no one!

[@Crow-jg4sj]

Twist was tough

[@WOLFENCT]

Jim McKenzie

[@EricGarciastussy]

@@WOLFENCT receipts please

[@WOLFENCT]

@@EricGarciastussy What do you mean? Big Mac kicked the crap out of Twist. KO'd

[@Mike-yg8ig]

Yeah that was scary.

[@user-cq6mx2cf3d]

Bob Probert is my favorite. Should of mentioned when Link once failed to appear in court and was later arrested for it at the Vancouver airport when the Sharks came to town to play the Canucks.

[@danielhayes7960]

My 2 favorite toughs were Joey Kocur and Knuckles Nilan ! I miss the days where you couldn’t wait to see a good fight in the NHL . Now it’s not as nearly as rough like in the 70s 80s and 90s! Couldn’t wait to get home after work crack a beer open and watch blood spill and teeth fly! Still love hockey but it’s not the same!LGR!!

[@MorbidMorgan]

Sick video man as usual.

[@stevenschlictman6152]

In an interview from a few years ago, ex-Blues enforcer Kelly Chase recalled that Link had a 'head like cement'. Very interesting video on Link's career - definitely one scary dude indeed!

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

Link definitely has a very above average thick boned looking head/skull as I saw just a few feet away as recently as at our Dairy Queen lunch together last Sunday. I'm cited by friends as a "big boned" 6'1"-6'2"ish usually 220ish pounds German but when I put my hands by Links' mine look puny. The first time I talked with Link was winter 2015-2016 (but I'd seen him around prior), we happened to be seated side by side at a lunch. My right hand was on the table by his left hand. The size difference freaked me out to the point I started my first ever conversation with Link by remarking to him how thick boned & big his hands are - and skull!! He confirmed he was German like me (he's 1/2 German, 1/2 Finnish). We've been friends ever since. Link phone called me today to talk a bit more about his two trips to Finland (in 1978 & 1987) & tell me that after his age 16 fight with giant age 40ish Crazy Jack at a mining camp (that a witness posted about online) that he became friends with Crazy Jack. Link does not boast about fighting, I brought up the Crazy Jack story I read, and Link simply replied that the story was true as told by the witness, and that the epilogue is that after their fight Link & Crazy Jack became friends. I've seen Link get rudely disrespected by a male stranger a few years ago at a cafe - Link's Viking savage character came out & it was terrifying to see up close. Link is as I describe it a 1000ish A.D. Viking warrior mistakenly placed a 1000 years ahead in a time & places that don't often legally & otherwise synch well with his "I like to booze & brawl" (verbatim to me a few years ago) character.

[@Troberts8910]

I remember hearing of him from a ice hockey computer game in the early 90's. Great name, I always remembered it, never knew he was a savage. 😮😂👏🏾

[@iceman2796]

Great Video!!! Gaetz was a bad MFer!!! I never realized how short his NHL career was. This was long before the internet so I didn't know his troubles were so bad. I will always remember Gaetz pummeling Mike Peluso in a fight. Peluso had been doing his best Ric Flair after fights he won that season. Peluso ran into Gaetz and got thrashed. I loved it!!! My all time favorite enforcer is the Twister, Tony Twist!!!

[@Slamit88]

Peluso Was A Charter Member of The NHL"s "Fighting-"CATCHERS" Club" (if Ya "Catch Drift" etc??....). One of The ELITE/Bad Tempered/Game n' Fearless"/" Drop' Em' & GO" (w/Anyone/Anytime!!) Yet Would NEVER (Seemingly!!) WIN a friggin' Fight (He Had TERRIBLE BALANCE SADLY!!).... Would be kind of "Neat To Name a few "OTHERS" in the Club thru The Years etc.... This Is For Video Hockey Fight Legacy Golden Era Of Fights (ie: Late 1960's -LATE 1990's Era) Member Fans Only!!👊🔥 Here's a Couple (Off Top Of Head") ""Game'-Knuckle Eaters" to get Any/All Started Here: 1) Terry Harper 2) Keith Magnuson 2) Tiger Williams 4) Eddie Shack 5) Basil McCrae 6) Lindy Ruff 7) Andre Dupont 8) Jim Korn One Note:: ALL These Guys WERE Tough Humans NO DOUBT.... (They just NEVER Seemd to WIN Their Fights.....) We'd Love to Hear some Others Guys....Do Tell.....👍🍻

[@mrwasatch]

Twist and Gaetz had a couple of good fights in the minors that I think you can find on the internet... when I used to go to IHL games in Salt Lake in late 80s/early 90s those two were kinda regarded as the top fighters of the league.

[@rileyholden-zc9ip]

Nicely done as usual nick

[@rockondudez]

As a Sharks fan from Day One (I live in NY LOL), I appreciated seeing this, as I could never forget his name!!! Best the Sharks had back then!!!

[@pjet8042]

Awesome! I was a huge Link fan when he was with the Sharks!

[@kenjackson6256]

Link was a crazy man, thanks for the deep dive into just how crazy. I have an autographed framed photo on my wall of the Shark's pestiest pesk - Jeff Odgers...

[@danielpodjun715]

Just made myself a bowl of Cookie Crisp cereal and I get a notification for a video…WINNING!

[@TwistedWristerHockey]

CooooOOOOOOkie Crisp!

[@Mike7911779]

Life doesnt get much better

[@raymondjurado9203]

NHL '94 shoutout through the soundtrack is an instant sub from me.

[@boombastic108]

I met Link while he played for the Kalamazoo Wings. He was very kind and autographed the K-Wings team card I had.

[@cullycross4786]

Lyndon Byers and Darrin Langdon to name a few.

[@Tomatohater64]

I saw Bob Battleship Kelly, Steve Durbano, and Dave Schultz in Pittsburgh. Pretty tough fighters, all three.

[@l_Live_In_Oregon]

The IHL Kalamazoo Wings had some of the best enforcers I saw during the middle 80s to early 90s. Besides Gaetz, check out Kevin Evans (648 PIM in 73 games, 1986-87 also 4 years in a row of 300 PIM) & Enrico Ciccone(406 PIM in 53 games 1991-92)

[@jockejocke1]

Link also played in the '88 WHL All-Star game.

[@daveyboy2497]

Played senior hockey in Miramichi and was escorted out of tow after a short time, had a couple of good scrapes with a Bathurst player, Steve Anderson

[@larrydanadavid2435]

I played AA in Moose Jaw and fought Tubby McKracken, Joey Divisadero, Stubbs Littlefeet and Charlie Meloncollie. We hung out at Big Goose Saloon and played shinny in the parking lot with the fry cooks. I puked up a pile of poutine after I got speared in the sternum. After that my biscuit in the basket days were over. Now I just play bingo down at the bowling alley.

[@jockejocke1]

The very first game in Sharks history was the preseason game against the Canucks on September 13, 1991. Link Gaetz scored a goal in that game, I recently looked at that boxscore and remembered it now.

[@Sigsupporter]

I remember him skating in Nashville with the knights wearing sharks shorts and socks with a knights jersey on

[@WarioSaysSo]

Sad that Link Gaetz threw away his hockey career. If he was as they say good at skating, good at stick handling and had hard shots cpmbined with his size and strenght, then he had all the physical tools - but yeah they don't matter if your mind is not focused and dedicated to the game!

[@daniel213141]

He wasn't the same player after the car accident.

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@daniel213141 I see. So he got a sort of brain damage?

[@daniel213141]

@@WarioSaysSo Yes, speech impairment and partially paralyzed down one side of his body if I recall. Doctors were astonished with his recovery and that he returned to playing hockey in a relative short period of time, but by all appearances, he wasn't the same player.

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@daniel213141 That os interesting indeed- To bad that he could not push his miracle a little further, but he really had a saving angel on his side!

[@nfloz11]

​@@WarioSaysSoHe was brain damaged as a kid.

[@davegrier523]

GREAT video. You speak well and get lots of info over quickly. Love it! Wish I could get Link for my beer league team.

[@A_Person_You_Dont_Know]

"Missing Link" Gaetz beat up an old man playing noon hour hockey in Abbotsford once.

[@eberkovich]

My favorite enforcer was Paul Laus of the early Florida Panthers

[@rickseuferer5418]

Great job telling Link’s story. You’d see him make a play and thought he’d turned the corner but most of the time he played like a Beer Leaguer who got a little something extra in his paycheck for each fight. A huge what if.

[@SlickDonaldRichard-rk94]

His fight with Probert was awesome.

[@anthonyrusso5442]

I am a big Rob Ray fan. He was drafted the same year as Link ( and Ty Domi) , and he was definitely in awe of him. Things in the NHL were different back then, but Link just couldn’t keep it together. It’s a shame that his skills were squandered by his demons.

[@danielsilfver6956]

He certainly had his demons, but the car accident is essentially what killed his NHL career.

[@forecheckbackcheckpaycheck]

Maybe do some of the toughest lines in hockey, Philly had a great one. "The Dan Line" feat Dan Kordic, Scott Daniels & Daniel Lacroix. Vicious.

[@davidryan9428]

That was always an exciting line. I believe it was the 85' season where the Flyers and Bruins had a fight off of the face-off at the end of the game. The line the Flyers sent out was Dave Brown, Darryl Stanley and Glen Cochrane. Needless to say there were multiple fights before the puck was dropped. I miss those days.

[@sicfrynut]

Nick Fotiu saying that someone is scary is like Liam Neeson agreeing that someone else has an even more ellite, distinct set of skills.

[@therapist6328]

Nick was a psycho!

[@finnmcginn9931]

1:20 fighting in Cooperalls makes it look like the coaches are scrapping

[@insertnamehere313]

Probert was king.

[@CV-ej5cu]

Joey kocur smashed his face in more than a few times he also get hot Joey once or twice as well, but kocur was most definitely the better fighter of the two.

[@kensteel4469]

Thank you for the great video if you can do one on Steve Durbano one day that would be awesome he was pretty crazy himself

[@dpgerais2592]

Meet him few times in Edmonton , nice guy!

[@michaelsteding7720]

Can't believe Probert had 62 pts to ho along with 398 penalty minutes.

[@66Bunn]

Being a Penguins fan, by all-time favorite enforcer is "Battleship" Kelly. But without a doubt, my favorite non-Penguin enforcer has always been Joey Kocur

[@Mike-yg8ig]

Kocur is a plastic surgeons best friend.

[@dergie1750]

I love the background NHL 94 music!

[@bradgodin146]

Probert kicked his ass

[@rickyokom1197]

Not really

[@ricksemeniuk629]

Both of those dorks were "dropped" by Dave Semenko- Oilers.

[@ricksemeniuk629]

💯 percent correct on that !

[@cwp2580]

If 'Dont you ever disrespect me' was a person... it would be Link Gaetz

[@jamescoleman5317]

if Chuck Norris ever said "excuse me" it was to Link Gaetz

[@RinkrattHockey]

I remember being in a hockey pool that had goons back in the day, and nobody knew of him, I took him with my last pick and cleaned up. He was known as “Missing” Link Gaetz

[@bigbadbruins1]

They should make a movie of Link

[@ScottieMarshall709]

The fight at 4:47 is against Greg Smyth aka Bird dog.

[@paddy160160]

Tie Domi,most of the time he was smaller than you but almost always he was tougher than you...LGR ! What a tragedy,this kids life ,he was an extremely dangerous person

[@saltycsc1358]

I'm from Kalamazoo and got to watch him play for the Wings! Man, we had some tough guys on that team! I think Kevin Evans still holds the single season record for PIMs in pro hockey with 648!!!

[@kllbll85]

So back in the day they would do autograph signings and his first year in San Jose He took a picture with my brand new baby who just turned 30 last year it said to the jakester from the linkster best to you in life! As he was riding I looked at his knuckles and I've never seen hands like that they were absolutely cauliflowered raw and they were just meat hooks man! But he was a very approachable cool dude. How is career ended with sad but you kind of knew it was coming it couldn't go any other way. I guess we're lucky we don't hear about him anymore in his case I think no news is good news! Nice clip man!

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

Link is 55 now & currently a big & strong 260 pounds. He phone called me today & I most recently saw him in person at lunch with him last Sunday March 17 2024. He spent this past winter working at a coal mine in British Columbia. Would you like me to arrange Link giving Jake an update "To the Jakester from the Linkster"!?

[@kllbll85]

@@Rainer_Stratkotter I've been trying to find the picture we thought in my mom's photo collection?..We've been trying to hunt it down. My sons mom passed away recently and it may have gone with her husband back to France ? Anyway he was awesome to us...I'm very glad to hear has found a way to live away from hockey....I'm glad his story is on the right track. That is awesome! Thanks so much for the update!

[@Rainer_Stratkotter]

@kllbll85 Condolences regarding your son's mom recently passing 🕊️💟 I will let Link know of your fond memory of his signing a personalized note for your son "To the Jakester from the Linkster" & your happiness for him currently doing okay 🍀🌅

[@kllbll85]

@@Rainer_Stratkotter Thank you!

[@mikemurray3962]

Great vid. Never really heard of link before. Any thoughts on John Kordic?

[@johnfeeley5716]

I was thinking about Kordic the whole time he was mentioning Gaetz too. If Gaetz was a few bricks short of a load in the NHL, what was Kordic?

[@Samsquench]

They don’t make them like that anymore. Comparing those fights with what we see these days is dark and dawn. I really miss watching these guys beat on one another. I know between getting better skilled players and CTE we will never be able to see anything like this.

[@larryjoe1357]

The Bruise Brothers AKA Bob Probert and Joey Kocur on the same team Detroit Red Wings needless to say Detroit didn't lose many fights.

[@Antiqueexcavator]

Brandon Bollig was also an amazing enforcer. I don’t think he ever lost and he went at it with the toughest of his day. What I loved most was he was always a gentlemen, honored the rules of combat and ended every fight with a tap of respect.

[@sockpuppet1022]

Kocur embarrassed Gaetz, busted him wide open.

[@IHaveTheSchwartz]

Most underrated enforcer of all-time.

[@barontaylor7139]

My teacher for grades 5-7 when I lived in Salmon Arm taught Link as well

[@TwistedWristerHockey]

No kiddin! I've seen a lot of comments from folks who either used to work with him or had a story about him from someone else they knew.

[@seanmorrison9973]

My brother grew up with Take Down Mik. lol They were in fights at parties every weekend. He was tough as nails. You had to be to choose this career back in the 80's.

[@jermhanson13]

Saw him when he played with the Spiders, awesome.

[@samtodd6301]

The dude was a beast but his face did not like Joey Kocur's knuckles.

[@mikearnold1322]

Mick Vukota was a beast in his WHL days.

[@timlee1794]

I just remember Gaetz beating the brakes off Tony Twist. That was impressive.

[@Kurt-ci1dk]

Sad story...mental illness.

[@jlove8445]

He was definitely a little ‘offside’

[@mike196212]

KZbin has pretty much told me about this guy. Before KZbin he was just a hockey card I misplaced from a set(a Shark then). Got caught up in that sort of thing in the early 90s and kept at it for about five years. Can still see that card and his intense stare. From what I've seen online,I'd say he had a really good chance of '''dethroning'' Probert(if you think Probert was tops) if he had stayed in the NHL.

[@guythibodeau4976]

John Kordic story is also messed up.

[@fellspoint9364]

No doubt. Kordic seemed like he had a death wish and eventually got it. Troubled dude.

[@davidryan9428]

Read John Kordic's book. It's dark and sad. His life was definitely messed up.

[@michaelhendrie1261]

I saw Link skate away in fear from Jeff Carlson in Muskegon during a bench clearing brawl.backwards hands up ,Carlson,of Slapshot fame.

[@user-oy5py6wo8q]

been watching the NHL for 50 years.can't believe never heard of this guy....seems like he had all the skills, not just fighting...too bad could have been HOF if he was disciplined

[@haydenorear7248]

Played with Link in the west coast hockey league in ‘98 I think it was. The stories I could tell…,.,,,,,,,,Walt Poddubny was our coach. Link was a great dude sometimes and a super scary dude at other times.

[@Mike7911779]

Awesome video!! 4:30 cuts before showing McKay get put on his butt. Al Stewart actually did well and cut Link. After that fight, Link went on a tear. The first podcast to get Link will become legendary.

[@TwistedWristerHockey]

Yeah, there was some good knockout moments that I chose to omit - just because of KZbin's picky content guidelines.

[@Mike7911779]

@@TwistedWristerHockey Better off playing it safe.

[@danielmurray7795]

I don't remember him handling Probie and Kocur that well, those boys had their hands full. Back then nobody beat up the Bruise Brothers. Thanks for the share, awesome

[@bobportnoy8304]

Al Stewart also had a great top 10 hit, the Year of The Cat. Proving you can throw hands and pen some great music.

[@Mike7911779]

@@bobportnoy8304 I had no idea that former Devil and Bruin was also a 78 year old Scottish singer

[@tailhookmd2546]

This was a really interesting video, with some insightful comments, until the very end when you compared Gaetz to Chelios and Stevens. Dude are you freaking out of your mind? Scott Stevens was a first ballot Hall of Famer who won the Conn Smythe and played in 14 All-Star games and captained the Devils to 3 Stanley cups. He’s literally one of the greatest dmen in history! I spit out my food out when you made that comparison.

[@NDtrueman]

😂😂😂very true

[@rich_t]

Sorry but nobody was more feared than Bob Probert...