The U.S. males’s ice hockey workforce is enjoying for greater than only a gold medal on the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Contained in the workforce’s locker room at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Area, a jersey with the quantity 13 hangs proudly, honoring the late American hockey participant and NHL star Johnny Gaudreau.
Gaudreau, 31, who performed for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames, and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, 29, had been fatally struck by an alleged drunk driver whereas they had been bicycling in New Jersey in August of 2024. They had been killed the night time earlier than their sister’s marriage ceremony. The sudden tragedy despatched shockwaves by way of the hockey neighborhood, with tributes pouring in from teammates, coaches and followers throughout the NHL.
Gaudreau performed for Workforce USA in six totally different worldwide occasions, together with 5 Worldwide Ice Hockey Federation Males’s World Championships, tallying 43 factors in 40 video games, probably the most factors in USA males’s IIHF historical past. Gaudreau was thought of a robust contender to make the U.S. Olympic workforce.
The Gaudreau household put out an announcement on social media forward of the boys’s Olympic hockey event in Milan, which expressed their “heartache figuring out how a lot this second meant to John.”
The household described Gaudreau’s need to characterize Workforce USA. “In that remaining summer season, John was coaching tougher than ever, together with his dad, pushing himself to be in the most effective form of his life. He was decided to earn his spot on that Olympic roster,” the Gaudreau household mentioned.
“Whereas it breaks our hearts that John gained’t be there to stay out that dream, we all know he might be so very current with Workforce USA and all of his shut associates competing all through these video games,” the household mentioned.
The household added a message of assist for Gaudreau’s former teammates.
“Go Workforce USA. We all know John and Matty are watching with pleasure.”
Gaudreau’s teammates expressed the same sentiment.
“We all know he’s right here with us, cheering us on and rooting for us,” mentioned alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk. “He’s bought his personal space within the locker room and it’s at all times good to see that as a reminder,” he added.
Teammate Zach Werenski performed with Gaudreau on the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2022 -2024.
“I understand how a lot Johnny wished to be right here for the 4 Nations and the Olympics,” he mentioned.
Gaudreau and Werenski represented Workforce USA collectively within the 2024 males’s World Championship.
“It’s tremendous particular to see his jersey hanging, and we’re enjoying for him and attempting to make him proud,” he added.
U.S. males’s hockey workforce head coach — and present head coach of the NHL’s New York Rangers — Mike Sullivan acknowledged what Johnny’s legacy means to the workforce.
“We did it within the 4 Nations event a 12 months in the past, and we’re carrying that jersey with us right here in Milan,” he mentioned.
“The truth that our workforce is celebrating him all through this event simply speaks volumes to the character and the person who Johnny was,” he mentioned. “I understand how a lot he meant to loads of the fellows in that room.”
