MAPLE RIDGE — Police in British Columbia say a former NHL player remains at large a day after authorities announced charges against him in the alleged attack on a taxi driver in Metro Vancouver.

Link Gaetz, 57, is facing charges of assault and mischief under $5,000 in the unprovoked attack of a Maple Ridge, B.C., taxi driver on Sept. 17, 2025.

Mounties say Gaetz is accused of abruptly telling the taxi driver to stop after being picked up, then punching the driver repeatedly in the face and trying to break the vehicle’s security camera before breaking the windshield and fleeing.

Gaetz has an outstanding warrant for his arrest to face the charges, and police have urged the public to help them find the former professional hockey player. The RCMP describe him as a six-foot-four, 252-pound man with blond hair and blue eyes.

The Vancouver native was drafted in the second round by the National Hockey League’s Minnesota North Stars — now the Dallas Stars — in 1988.

He played 65 NHL games with Minnesota and the San Jose Sharks over three seasons, compiling six goals, eight assists and 412 penalty minutes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2026.