Johnny Gaudreau

Early life

Gaudreau was born on August 13, 1993, in Salem, New Jersey, to Guy Gaudreau, a former soccer player, college hockey player, and high school coach from Beebe Plain, Vermont, and Jane Gaudreau. He had two sisters and a younger brother, Matthew, who played hockey for the Worcester Railers and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the ECHL and AHL, respectively.

Gaudreau grew up in Carneys Point Township, New Jersey. As a child, he played little league baseball in the Penns Grove Little League, where he was teammates with future Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Shawaryn, and participated in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Hershey, Pennsylvania. He initially attended Gloucester Catholic High School in Gloucester City, New Jersey, but later graduated from Dubuque Senior High School in Dubuque, Iowa while playing for the Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Playing career

USHL (2010–2011)

Gaudreau played the 2010–11 season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he played in the 2011 USHL All-Star Game and helped his team win the Clark Cup as the USHL champions. He ultimately finished second in the league in goals, with 36, and fourth in points, with 72. Gaudreau's outstanding play was rewarded with selections to the USHL All-Rookie Team and the All-USHL Second Team, as well as the USHL Rookie of the Year award.

Gaudreau was selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, in the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Calgary Flames. Listed at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 137 lb (62 kg), Gaudreau was the lightest player selected at the draft, and tied with Rocco Grimaldi for the shortest player selected.

NCAA (2011–2014)

After attending the Calgary Flames training camp ahead of the 2011–12 season, Gaudreau started his career in the NCAA with the Division I Boston College Eagles team in the Hockey East conference. He originally signed a letter of intent to play with Hockey East rival Northeastern University, but opted for Boston College when Northeastern hockey head coach Greg Cronin resigned in June 2011 to take a position with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.

As a freshman at Boston College, Gaudreau scored 21 goals and 23 assists (44 points) in 44 games, leading all first-year students in scoring. He played an integral part in Boston College's win in the team's national championship, scoring a goal late in the third period in their 4–1 win in the final over Ferris State University. Gaudreau was awarded the Bill Flynn Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Hockey East Championship Tournament. He also helped the Eagles win the traditional Beanpot Tournament for the third year in a row and was named Beanpot MVP after the tournament.

In his sophomore campaign, Gaudreau emerged as the team's star and improved upon his statistics, achieving a 21–30–51 scoring line in 35 games, and leading the nation in points per game at 1.46. He then led the Eagles to a fourth consecutive Beanpot championship after helping to win a gold medal for the United States at the 2013 World Juniors. Despite Boston College's defeat by archrival Boston University in the Hockey East tournament semifinals and loss to Union College in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Gaudreau was named Hockey East Player of the Year, as well as an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) First Team All-American. On April 3, 2013, Gaudreau was named one of the three finalists for the 2013 Hobey Baker Award, awarded to the NCAA's top men's ice hockey player, along with Eric Hartzell and Drew LeBlanc. St. Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc eventually won the award.

Gaudreau remained at Boston College for his junior year despite rumors of him turning professional and joining the Calgary Flames. According to Gaudreau, one of the main reasons he stayed was to play with his younger brother Matthew, who joined Boston College's team in the fall. Gaudreau subsequently led the NCAA in every major scoring category, scoring 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points in 40 games, a 2.00 point per game pace, the highest production by any player in the country since 2003. After a 5–4 Eagles loss to Holy Cross in November, Gaudreau was placed on a line with Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes, which quickly became collegiate hockey's most offensively-potent line, producing 46 goals and 68 assists for 114 points as a trio. In addition, Gaudreau tied Paul Kariya's record for the Hockey East single-season scoring streak at 31 games, scoring 29 goals and 61 points during the span. For his season, he was named the league's Player of the Year for the second straight season, as well as the league's scoring champion with 36 points in 20 games, and was named a unanimous First-Team All-Star. He was also named a Hobey Baker top 10 finalist on March 20, and a top three "Hobey Hat Trick" finalist for the second-straight year on April 2. Although the Eagles lost to Union College in the Frozen Four on April 11, Gaudreau was named the 2014 recipient of the Hobey Baker Award.

Professional

Gaudreau entered the NHL on the day he received the Hobey Baker Award. On April 11, 2014, shortly after the ceremony, Gaudreau and Eagles teammate Bill Arnold signed entry-level contracts with the Calgary Flames, Arnold having been drafted by Calgary in 2010. Both made their NHL debut in the Flames' final game of the 2013–14 season against the Vancouver Canucks. Gaudreau scored the Flames' only goal on his first shot of his first professional game.

To begin the 2014–15 season, Gaudreau earned a spot on the Flames' roster to continue his NHL career. Starting off slowly, Gaudreau did not record a point until the year's sixth game. However, he heated up quickly, amassing 12 goals and 30 points through 37 games. He scored his first career NHL hat-trick against Jonathan Quick on December 22, 2014, in a 4–3 comeback win over the Los Angeles Kings, becoming the youngest Flames player to record a hat-trick since Joe Nieuwendyk in the 1987–88 season. Gaudreau was selected to play in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio, on January 25, 2015, and participated in the Skills Competition, garnering attention with Jakub Voráček for their antics during the shootout challenge. The shootout move, which imitated the previous move performed by Ryan Johansen (who helped seven-year-old Cole Vogt, the son of Columbus Blue Jackets trainer Mike Vogt, score a goal on Corey Crawford) went viral. Voráček, who went immediately after Johansen, "helped" Gaudreau score a goal in the same manner as Johansen did with Vogt, making fun of Gaudreau's size and youth, as his small stature in comparison to other NHLers led some to believe that he looked like a child.

Gaudreau was originally named to the All-Star Skills Competition Rookie Team, limited to only the competition portion, but was promoted to the All-Star Game itself as a replacement to Pittsburgh Penguins forward and captain Sidney Crosby, who could not play due to injury. Gaudreau was named to Team Toews and recorded two assists in the game, both on goals scored by the Nashville Predators' Filip Forsberg. On March 11, 2015, Gaudreau scored his 50th point of the season, becoming the first Flames rookie to reach the mark since Jarome Iginla in 1996–97. Gaudreau finished the season tied for the rookie scoring lead with Mark Stone of the Ottawa Senators. Gaudreau had 24 goals and led all rookies with 40 assists, while Stone had 26 goals. He was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best rookie, but the award went to Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, with Gaudreau finishing third. He was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team for the 2014–15 season.

International play

In 2013, Gaudreau was selected to represent the United States in the 2013 World Junior Championships. He led the tournament with seven goals and tied for the team lead with nine points as the United States won the gold medal. Highlighted by a hat-trick in the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic and another two goals against Canada in the semifinals, he was named to the tournament All-Star Team.

In 2014, Gaudreau was named to the senior United States team that played in the 2014 World Championship. He scored his first international goal as a professional in a pre-tournament game against Germany, scoring the second goal in a 3–1 victory. He scored in the first official game of the tournament, the third goal in a 5–1 victory over hosts Belarus. Although the United States bowed out of the tournament in a quarterfinals loss to the Czech Republic, Gaudreau finished the tournament 10th in scoring, with two goals and eight assists for 10 points, including a four-point performance in a 5–4 win over Germany.

In 2016, Gaudreau joined Team North America to play at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, playing alongside other NHL stars from both the United States and Canada who were 23 years old and under at the time. He scored four points in three games, two goals, and two assists.

In 2018, Gaudreau was named to the American roster to compete at the 2018 World Championship. He scored one goal and eight assists during the tournament en route to a bronze medal for the team.

On April 19, 2019, Gaudreau was selected to represent the United States at the 2019 World Championship. He recorded only one goal and one assist in six games, with the team finishing seventh in the tournament following a quarterfinals loss to Russia.

After several years away from international play, Gaudreau was named to the United States roster for the 2024 World Championship. He recorded three goals and eight assists during the tournament, but the United States once again failed to medal, finishing in fifth after a quarterfinals loss to hosts Czechs.

Personal life

Johnny Gaudreau's father, Guy Gaudreau, a native of Beebe Plain, Vermont, played college hockey at Norwich University, after playing high school hockey at North Country Union High School. He was inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame. He settled in southern New Jersey and spent 11 years coaching hockey at Gloucester Catholic.

Gaudreau married his wife, Meredith, in September 2021. The couple had three children. Daughter Noa was born in September 2022 and a son, Johnny Jr., was born in February 2024. On September 9, 2024, Meredith announced in her eulogy that she was pregnant with their third child (due in Spring 2025). On April 1, 2025, Meredith gave birth to Carter Michael Gaudreau. Carter was given the middle name Michael in honor of Johnny, whose middle name was also Michael.

Gaudreau's younger brother, Matthew, was also a professional hockey player and played on the Reading Royals of the ECHL. He previously played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL) and their ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers. Gaudreau and his brother played together at Boston College during the 2013–14 season.

In January 2015, Johnny Gaudreau filed a trademark application for the nickname "Johnny Hockey" in Canada and the U.S. due to concerns that people would abuse his nickname for their own marketing gain.

After Johnny and his brother, Matthew, were struck and killed by a drunk driver while riding their bicycles near their hometown in New Jersey on August 29, 2024, Matthew's wife, Madeline, gave birth to their child in December 2024.

Death

On the evening of August 29, 2024, Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a drunk driver while they were cycling in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. The Gaudreau brothers were cycling at around 8 p.m. and were hit from the rear by a motorist who was attempting to pass other vehicles on a two-lane rural highway. Police responded to the incident at 8:19 p.m.; both brothers were found dead at the scene by the time police arrived. The driver, 44-year-old Sean M. Higgins of Woodstown, was arrested for drunk driving and charged with death by auto, after telling responding officers at the scene that he had consumed "five or six" beers before driving and continued to consume alcohol while operating the car; he failed a breathalyzer test when administered by police, along with failing a field sobriety test. Both Gaudreau brothers were also legally intoxicated at the time of the collision. Rumors of the Gaudreaus' deaths began to circulate online on the evening of the collision, but their deaths were not officially announced until the following morning. The brothers had traveled to the township to attend their sister Katie's wedding, which had been scheduled to take place the following day.

Several North American sports teams, popular figures, and organizations issued tributes in reaction to his death. All 32 NHL teams issued statements in response to his death, alongside dozens of hockey players, athletes from other sports, and politicians, among them Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canadian Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and former governor Chris Christie. Makeshift fan memorials also developed outside Nationwide Arena and the Scotiabank Saddledome, the home arenas of the Blue Jackets and Flames, respectively, as well as at the scene of the collision and notable local community sites which had a connection to the Gaudreau family. The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Columbus Crew both held moments of silence before their respective games on August 31, 2024. Similarly, the Calgary Stampeders held a 13-second moment of silence prior to their Canadian Football League (CFL) game on September 2.

On September 3, fellow American NHLer and U.S. national teammate Cole Caufield announced that he would be switching his jersey number from 22 to 13 beginning in the 2024–25 season in honor of Gaudreau, citing him as an inspiration early into his hockey career owing to his own short stature.

Both the Blue Jackets and Flames held candlelight vigils at their respective arenas on September 4; the former saw speeches from multiple players, including Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner, Calgary and Columbus teammate Erik Gudbranson, and Cole Sillinger, with those gathered observing 13 minutes and 21 seconds of silence, in reference to Johnny's jersey no. 13 and Matthew's jersey no. 21. The Flames' vigil involved a similar 13 minutes of silence, marking the beginning of a 13-day observance at the makeshift Saddledome memorial, as well as speeches from Flames captain Mikael Backlund and Hockey Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald. On September 9, a funeral service for the Gaudreau brothers was held at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Media, Pennsylvania. Johnny's former Calgary teammates, Sean Monahan and Andrew Mangiapane, and former Boston College teammate Kevin Hayes, served as his pallbearers.

Legacy

During both the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2025 IIHF World Championship, Gaudreau was honored by the U.S. team, for whom he had previously played. At the 4 Nations Face-Off, he was given a dedicated locker stall featuring his jersey, which was awarded to the team's player of the game following each win. Before the final against Canada, Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 gold medal-winning "Miracle on Ice" team and honorary captain for the event, wore a Gaudreau jersey.

At the 2025 IIHF World Championship, the U.S. team also carried a Gaudreau jersey throughout the tournament. After winning their first gold medal in 92 years at the World Championship, the team held the jersey while accepting the trophy.

At the 2026 Winter Olympics, the American team again kept a No. 13 Gaudreau sweater with them, and his surviving family attended games during the tournament. Following the United States' overtime victory over Canada to win the gold medal, players skated with Gaudreau's jersey during celebrations and later included his children in the team photograph after the medal ceremony.

Career statistics

Career statistics derived from Elite Prospects.