Gaetano "Gates" Orlando (born November 13, 1962) is a Canadian-born Italian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

between 1984 and 1987. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1984 to 1999, was mainly spent in the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

and Swiss Nationalliga A. Internationally Orlando played for the Italian national team at several

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

and at the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

. He later coached in the minor leagues for a few years, and also worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a 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 Conference. The club w ...

of the NHL. His father's ancestry hails from Agnone, Isernia, Molise, Italy.

International play

By virtue of his Italian ancestry and playing in Italy, Orlando acquired Italian citizenship and was eligible for the Italian national ice hockey team. He participated in the following tournaments: * 8 A-

: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 * 2 B-World Championships: 1990, 1991 * 2

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 1994 in Lillehammer and 1998 in Nagano Orlando wore jersey number 17 in the national team.

Artificial heart and Heart Transplant

sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis (; also known as Besnier–Boeck–Schaumann disease) is a disease involving abnormal collections of White blood cell, inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph n ...

patient, in March 2011, Orlando was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He was participating in a clinical study of Life Vest, a wearable defibrillator. On May 22, the defibrillator saved his life after his heart stopped for 40 seconds. Orlando was the first participant in the study to have required the vest to deliver a shock.Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, June 3, 2011
On April 4, 2012, Orlando received an artificial heart to extend his life while he waits for a donated biological heart. The operation, performed at the

University of Rochester Medical Center The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is a medical complex on the main campus of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, resea ...

, was the first such operation in Upstate New York. A donor heart became available February 4, 2013 so the transplant teams were mobilized for surgery that day at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He was able to return home 25 days later.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching career

After retiring from pro ice hockey by the end of 1998–99 with HC Lugano, Orlando become a

. At the World Championships he served as an assistant coach with the Italian national team while still being a player.

Awards and honors

*1990 -

Champion with

HC Bolzano HC, hc or H/C may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine * Health Canada * Hemicrania continua * Hyperelastosis cutis or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia Chemistry * Hemocyanin, a metalloprotein abbreviated Hc * ...

*1992 - Serie A Champion with Milano Devils *1993 - Serie A Champion with Milano Devils *1994 - Serie A Champion with AC Milan Hockey *1997 - NLA Champion with

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is a professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rin ...

*1999 - NLA Champion with

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orlando, Gaetano 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