Start of Flyers-Flames kicked off with this warm tribute to South Jersey native Johnny Gaudreau
Johnny Gaudreau spent parts of nine seasons with the Flames after being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft.
CALGARY, Alberta — After the fanfare that typically comes with a home opener, Johnny Gaudreau was honored by the C of Red.
On Saturday, the Flyers joined the Flames on the ice, standing in solidarity with their hockey brethren as 13 goals scored by the New Jersey native lit up the jumbotron. Most notable was the last one, the overtime winner in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Gaudreau, 31, and his younger brother Matthew, 29, were fatally struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver on Aug. 29, the eve of what was scheduled to be their younger sister’s wedding, while on an evening bike ride in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
Johnny Gaudreau spent parts of nine seasons with the Flames after being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft. A seven-time NHL All-Star, he was a few short weeks away from beginning his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Gaudreau played 763 regular-season games, of which 602 were with the Flames. He notched 743 points and is fifth on the Flames all-time points list with 609.
Matthew played in the minors, including a stint with the Flyers’ ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, and later coached at Gloucester Catholic, the brother’s alma mater. The Gaudreaus were also teammates at Boston College.
The fans roared for Johnny as the goals played and the calls by radio play-by-play broadcaster Derek Wills and former Flames play-by-play man Rick Ball echoed around the Saddledome.
When the No. 13 splashed across the screen, the cheers grew louder and louder, and “Johnny, Johnny” chants cascaded down from the rafters.
The Gaudreaus’ father, Guy Gaudreau, has been a mainstay at the Flyers Training Center for the past few weeks after John Tortorella phoned and asked him to help coach at training camp.
“He’s a coach and he’s done some great work with some of the youth out here,” Tortorella said of the longtime South Jersey youth hockey coach at Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell and Gloucester Catholic High School in late September.
“I figured it’s perfect to get him in with us. He was hesitant at first, and we let him go at his timetable and I think it worked out really well today. I gave him my camp book, we’re going to check in next week and see if we can get him out here a couple more times and have him be part of it. I don’t want it to be, just come out here, I want him to be part of it. I think it will be therapeutic for him to be around us and run some drills.”
Guy, 67, wears the same blue and red Warrior gloves with the name “Gaudreau” stitched on the cuff that Johnny wore with the Columbus Blue Jackets.