It did not take long for the countless hockey sticks, flowers, pictures and other items to be laid outside of Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell, N.J., in memory of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
Long before the Gaudreau brothers had become professionals they were like so many other youth hockey players who had come to pay tribute to two of southern New Jersey’s most influential players following their tragic deaths on Aug. 29 when they were struck by a car while riding bicycles at home in Salem County, N.J.
Johnny, 31, was an 11-year NHL superstar who was a current member of the Columbus Blue Jackets and also played for the Calgary Flames. He also starred on the international stage as a five-time member of the U.S. Men’s National Team and 2013 World Juniors gold medalist. Matthew, 29, was an up-and-coming hockey coach following a five-year professional career in the AHL, ECHL and Sweden. Both brothers also played for Boston College, where Johnny earned the nickname “Johnny Hockey.”
It all started, though, inside Hollydell Ice Arena where the two sons of Guy and Jane Gaudreau developed a burning passion for the game that far outweighed their 5-foot-9-inch statures, which some claimed would be too small for pro hockey. Even more so, the Gaudreau brothers developed an impeccable bond with their teammates, creating lifelong friendships.
Many of those friends were eventually coached by Vincent Malts, who is currently a mental performance and player development coach for the Edmonton Oilers. Malts played for Guy, and he still remembers the day Johnny was born. It wasn’t long before Malts would start to see a small Johnny skating on the Hollydell ice attempting to perfect his impeccable stickhandling that he would become known for. The same could be said for Matthew, who was often tied to the hip of his older brother.
“It was Johnny and Matty,” Malts said. “They created almost a community center at Hollydell for their friends.”
What truly stood out, though, explained Malts, was their character.
Malts remembers how fast Johnny and Matt were willing to help when fellow hockey player Nick Egan sadly passed away at 21 years old in 2014. Malts sent Johnny a text saying he wanted to organize something locally to help raise funds for the Egan family.
“Right away he said he was in, what can I do, how can I help, and he got all the guys there,” Malts said. “There was such a genuine energy that they brought. Even as they started to rise, they were still about their family and the community. It never got away from them.
“They always brought that energy. If anyone needed something – friends, family, teammates—boom, they were there.”
John DiNorcia, the youth player development program director for the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association, remembers when chatter began to percolate throughout AAHA about this kid named Johnny Gaudreau in the early 2000s.
“Johnny’s path when he was younger was not linear,” DiNorcia recalled. “He got cut from some things when he was younger, but he kept playing his game. He never let it deter him. He kept working hard, coming back.”
Johnny would work his way to the USHL and then to Boston College. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft and went on to score 243 goals and notch 500 assists in 763 career games.
“It was difficult for some to wrap their head around a player of his size that could be so dominant and so effective,” DiNorcia added. “There was a barrier that he had to break through. Would his skills transfer as he was getting older. Would he still be able to play the same game like when he was younger?”
“He answered that question a million times over as he was going on his journey.”
Hall of Fame goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, who today serves as assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, reflected on what was sadly Johnny’s last appearance in a Team USA sweater.
“I remember when we added Johnny to the team for last year’s men’s world championship,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “The players rallied around him. He could build hope in a locker room. He had such a love for the game and his teammates.”
In that tournament, Gaudreau went on to become USA Hockey’s all-time career assists (30) and points (43) leader in the men’s world championship. It was the latest accomplishment for Gaudreau’s career, which included scoring seven goals to lead the U.S. National Junior Team to a gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World
Junior Championship.
“He utilized his gifts very well,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “We have seen hands, skill and speed before, but I don’t think anybody could handle the puck in a phonebooth like Johnny. He was like a bird flying through the sky, like an eagle. It was watching something graceful.
“We just loved to watch him, and he just loved to do it.”
Matthew’s decision to give back to his local ice hockey community as a youth hockey coach was not lost on anyone.
“Matt forged his own journey, and his own identity, coming back and working with the younger players,” DiNorcia said. “That family has done so much for youth hockey. The way kids feel in this area about this sport is because of the Gaudreaus.”
That impact that Matthew and Johnny had on their local community was visible when Hollydell Ice Arena held a memorial for the two brothers prior to an NAHL game between the Philadelphia Rebels, where Matthew was an assistant coach for two seasons, and the Northeast Generals on Sept. 13. Jim Mackey, owner of Hollydell Ice Arena, announced the ice rink inside would be renamed Gaudreau Rink.
Now thousands of future youth hockey players will step on the ice where Johnny and Matthew brought so much love and joy. Some of those kids may not be the stereotypical hockey player either.
“Their legacy is going to have tentacles and reverberate forever, certainly in our district and all through USA Hockey,” DiNorcia said.
Vanbiesbrouck added that Johnny is the “epitome of success” for smaller players.
“He gives everybody hope,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “This game is made up of size. It is one factor that everyone looks at critically, but you can break the mold just on execution and IQ.”
Malts, DiNorcia and Vanbiesbrouck agreed that there will be an even more important lesson being passed down to future generations.
“They cared about their friends, their family, their community,” Malts concluded. “The next generation can learn as they come up to care about your teammates and family that way. Look at the love Johnny and Matthew created. The passion that was created around them and it all came from a place of genuine love, friendship, care for one another and how they could support and be there for others."
“That is what the next generation needs to really understand and remember.”