Rod Gilbert Injury

Rod Gilbert was one tough player. He overcame one serious injury a broken back. During a junior game, Gilbert skated over a piece of debris. He had two operations to fix his injury in which he almost died as a result of the surgeries. When he was eligible to play again after his broken back, he was put in and got five points in 4 games. Gilbert fought through his injury and reached his goal of playing in the NHL with the New York Rangers by 1962-63. For his work he would be given the Masterton Memorial Trophy later in his career.

The New York Ranger were impressed with Gilbert at the age of 14. When Gilbert got put in, he scored two goals in his first game and was even more impressing the postseason. So he was able to keep with the NY Rangers for the next 18 years. When Gilbert played for the NY Rangers, he was teamed up with Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield, the GAG (Goal-A-Game) line. …show more content…
Gilbert and his team made it to the Allen Cup. The man Yvon Prud'homme had been hired by the NY Rangers to start a competitive Junior B league in Montreal. When Gilbert was signed, Gilbert told Yvon Prud’homme to sign Jean Ratelle. Yvon Prud’homme signed Ratelle without even seeing him play.

Rod Gilbert was also a player for his country, Canada. He played against the Soviet Union in the Summit Series in 1972. Gilbert helped Team Canada receive a win in one of the greatest hockey series in my opinion. Gilbert set or equaled 20 team scoring records and when he retired in 1977, he trailed only one other right winger (Gordie Howe) in total points.

Rod Gilbert was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982. If I was there at that time and have the power to elect someone to the Hockey Hall of Fame, I would totally elect Rod Gilbert because he was one player who showed a lot of strength in his