Gaetano Orlando
Gaetano "Gates" Orlando | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1962 Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey centre, coach, scout |
| Years active | 1984–1999 (player), post-1999 (coach and scout) |
| Known for | Playing in NHL with Buffalo Sabres; representing Italy internationally in World Championships and Winter Olympics; coaching and scouting career |
Gaetano "Gates" Orlando (born November 13, 1962) is a former professional ice hockey centre and coach, originally from Canada but of Italian descent. He competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres between 1984 and 1987. The bulk of his playing career, which lasted from 1984 until 1999, took place mainly in Italy's Serie A and Switzerland's Nationalliga A. On the international stage, Orlando represented the Italian national squad at numerous World Championships as well as at the Winter Olympics in 1994 and 1998. After retiring from playing, he transitioned into coaching roles within minor leagues and served as a scout for the NHL's New Jersey Devils. His familial origins are from Agnone, located in Isernia, Molise, Italy.
International play
By virtue of his Italian heritage and professional experience in Italy, Orlando obtained Italian citizenship, which qualified him to play for the national team.
His international career highlights include:
- Participation in 8 top-level World Championships from 1992 through 1999
- Competing in 2 B-level World Championships during 1990 and 1991
- Representing Italy at two Olympic Games: Lillehammer 1994 and Nagano 1998
While playing for Italy, Orlando donned jersey number 17.
Artificial heart and Heart Transplant
In March 2011, Orlando was diagnosed with congestive heart failure caused by sarcoidosis. He took part in a clinical trial involving the Life Vest wearable defibrillator. On May 22 of that year, this device saved his life during a cardiac arrest lasting approximately 40 seconds—the first instance where a participant in the trial required defibrillation.
On April 4, 2012, he underwent implantation of an artificial heart at the University of Rochester Medical Center, marking the inaugural procedure of its kind in Upstate New York. Subsequently, on February 4, 2013, a donor heart became available, enabling a successful transplant operation. Orlando was discharged to return home just 25 days following surgery.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–80 | Montréal Juniors | QMJHL | 70 | 28 | 44 | 72 | 50 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 1980–81 | Providence College | ECAC | 31 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1981–82 | Providence College | ECAC | 28 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1982–83 | Providence College | ECAC | 40 | 30 | 39 | 69 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1983–84 | Providence College | ECAC | 34 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1983–84 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 11 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 49 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 62 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 60 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 29 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 27 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–87 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 44 | 22 | 42 | 64 | 42 | 18 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| 1987–88 | HC Merano | ITA | 36 | 49 | 44 | 93 | 66 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| 1987–88 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 13 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–89 | HC Bolzano | ITA | 34 | 40 | 39 | 79 | 66 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–90 | HC Bolzano | ITA | 36 | 64 | 62 | 126 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–91 | HC Bolzano | ITA | 27 | 39 | 33 | 72 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–92 | HC Devils Milano | ITA | 18 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 42 | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–92 | HC Devils Milano | Alpenliga | 11 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–93 | HC Devils Milano | ITA | 16 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–93 | HC Devils Milano | ALP | 25 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 46 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–94 | HC Devils Milano | ITA | 20 | 16 | 44 | 60 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 27 | ||||||||||||||
|
1993–94 Alpenliga season 1993-94 HC Devils Milano AL 30 16 31 47 29 — — — — — - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" NDA 36 24 31 55 58 6 3 7 10 8 - SC Bern NDA 34 15 26 41 62 11 10 8 18 45 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" SC Bern NDA 46 26 56 82 34 13 7 10 17 12 - SC Bern NDA 38 16 32 48 73 7 6 3 9 18 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" — — — — — 4 1 4 5 8 - 1997-98 Serie A (Ice Hockey) Season ITA — — — — — 2 3 0 3 4 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" NDA 27 12 20 32 34 11 6 5 11 10 - AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — - bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |
ITA totals | 187 | 238 | 262 | 500 | 215 | 68 | 70 | 74 | 144 | 137
- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |
NHL totals | 98 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 51 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Italy | WC B | 7 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 6 | |
| 1991 | Italy | WC B | 7 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 | |
| 1992 | Italy | WC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1993 | Italy | WC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1994 | Italy | OLY | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | |
| 1994 | Italy | WC | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1995 | Italy | WC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | |
| 1996 | Italy | WC | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1997 | Italy | WC | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | |
| 1998 | Italy | OLY | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1998 | Italy | WC | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Italy | WC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 71 | 36 | 37 | 73 | 66 | |||
Coaching career
After concluding his playing career with HC Lugano in the 1998–99 season, Orlando moved into coaching. While still active as a player, he had already taken on the role of assistant coach for the Italian national team during the World Championships.
| Season | Team | League | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 – 00 | Rochester Junior A Americans | NAHL | Head Coach |
| 2000 – 01 | Adirondack Frostbite#Adirondack IceHawks | United Hockey League (UHL) | Head Coach | |
| 2001 – 02 | Adirondack IceHawks | UHL | Head Coach |
| 2002 –03 | Albany River Rats | American Hockey League (AHL) | Assistant Coach |
| 2003 –04 | Albany River Rats | AHL | Assistant Coach |
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|
- All-ECAC Hockey First Team, 1983–84
- AHCA East Second-Team All-American, 1983–84
Additional titles include:
- Serie A Champion with HC Bolzano (1990)
- Serie A Champion with Milano Devils (1992, 1993)
- Serie A Champion with AC Milan Hockey (1994)
- National League A Champion with SC Bern (1997)
- NLA Champion with HC Lugano (1999)
External links
- 1962 births
- Albany River Rats players
- Bolzano HC players
- Buffalo Sabres draft picks
- Buffalo Sabres players
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent
- HC Lugano players
- HC Merano players
- HC Milano players
- Ice hockey people from Montreal
- Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- Montreal Juniors players
- New Jersey Devils scouts
- Olympic ice hockey players for Italy
- People from LaSalle, Quebec
- Providence Friars men's ice hockey players
- Rochester Americans players
- SC Bern players
- SCL Tigers players
- United Hockey League coaches
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
- AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans