Luke Gazdic (born July 25, 1989) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

winger. Gazdic was selected 172nd overall in the

2007 NHL Entry Draft The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at Nationwide Arena in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007. The draft ...

by the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

. He played for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

during his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) career. Gazdic mainly played as an enforcer.

Playing career

On September 29, 2013, Gazdic was claimed on waivers by the

from the

. Playing on opening night of the

2013–14 NHL season The 2013–14 NHL season was the 97th season of operation (96th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season features a realignment of the league's 30 teams from a six to a four division format. The regular season began Octob ...

, Gazdic made his NHL debut on October 1, 2013, and scored his first NHL goal at 2:21 of the first period past

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

' goalie Ondrej Pavelec, to record the first goal of the 2013–14 Edmonton Oilers season. He made eight points in his time with the Oilers, playing as an enforcer with a fierce reputation. On July 5, 2016, having left the Oilers as a free agent, Gazdic agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with the

. He appeared in 11 games throughout the 2016–17 season with the Devils. On July 2, 2017, Gazdic returned to Canada as a free agent in signing a one-year, two-way deal with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. Gazdic was reassigned to the AHL with affiliate, the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The Hea ...

for the duration of the 2017–18 season. In 61 regular season games, he contributed with 1 goal and 2 points while posting 59 penalty minutes. As a free agent from the Flames, and with no NHL contract over the summer, Gazdic joined the San Diego Gulls training camp on a try-out and later made the AHL opening night roster for the 2018–19 season. He made 20 appearances with the Gulls posting 3 goals and 7 points. In the following off-season, Gazdic opted to continue his tenure with the Gulls agreeing to a one-year contract on August 14, 2019. In June 2021, Gazdic announced his retirement.

Personal life

His brothers

Benjamin Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

and Mark are also ice hockey players. His father, Mike Gazdic, was drafted in

1978 NHL Amateur Draft The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Dra ...

by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazdic, Luke 1989 births Living people Albany Devils players Bakersfield Condors players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of Croatian descent Dallas Stars draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Erie Otters players Ice hockey people from Ontario Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players New Jersey Devils players Oklahoma City Barons players Ontario Junior Hockey League players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Sportspeople from Toronto Stockton Heat players Texas Stars players