Eleven days after their sudden and tragic deaths, the funeral for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau is underway at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Pa.
Family, friends and other loved ones of Johnny, an NHL star, and Matthew, who also played hockey professionally, started to arrive at the church shortly before the service got underway at noon local time.
John, better known in the sports world as “Johnny Hockey,” and Matthew died in New Jersey on Aug. 29 after they were struck by an SUV while riding their bicycles. Police have said investigators suspect the driver of the vehicle was impaired. The crash took place the night before John, 31, and Matthew, 29, were to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
Monday’s funeral is expected to include a large number of mourners from the hockey community. Both Gaudreaus spent time playing for Boston College before turning pro.
John would go on to become a household name in the sport, spending years as a fan favourite with the Calgary Flames. John, who was by physical standards very small for a professional hockey player, shrugged off concerns raised by hockey scouts and analysts over whether he would be able to compete against much larger players and put up huge offensive numbers with the Flames. In 2022, he signed a contract to join the Columbus Blue Jackets, saying that he and his family wanted to be closer to relatives in New Jersey.
Matthew also played professional hockey in the ECHL and AHL.
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Several children were seen entering the church in Media on Monday wearing hockey jerseys with the No. 13 on them — the same number Johnny wore for most of his NHL career.
Among those in the hockey community who were seen arriving at the funeral were NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and former Calgary Flames hockey executive Brian Burke.
In addition to former teammates of Johnny’s, other NHL players also turned up at the funeral, including Cole Caufield. Like Johnny, Caufield has found his way as an NHL goal-scoring threat for the Montreal Canadiens despite his size. Last week, he revealed he plans to change his jersey number to 13 in honour of Johnny.
The two played together for Team USA at the IIHF World Hockey Championship this past May.
“He was the most welcoming, genuine, and funniest guy I have ever met,” Caufield said while speaking about Johnny last week.
Last week, thousands of people gathered at candlelight vigils in Calgary and Columbus to honour the lives of the two brothers whose deaths have shaken the sporting world.
One of the people who spoke at Wednesday’s vigil in Columbus was Blue Jackets defenceman Erik Gudbranson, who was an NHL teammate of John’s in Ohio and also in Calgary. He spoke about how kind John was and what a loving husband and father he was. He also shared some memories of being on the same team as John and some of their traditions.
“A little thing I did with John is I’d pick him up and give him a bear hug, and I wouldn’t put him down until he told me he loved me,” Gudbranson told people at the Ohio vigil. “He wouldn’t tell me for a long time. I know up here it was because he enjoyed the hug.
“You will continue to inspire me to be just like you.”
At a vigil held in Calgary on the same day, fans who had gathered outside the Flames’ arena for the memorial spontaneously chanted “Johnny! Johnny!” at times.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund was among the speakers at the Alberta vigil. At times he almost appeared overcome with emotion and recounted that John “always had a smile on his face, on and off the ice.”
“I’m going to miss that smile,” I’m going to miss Johnny chirping me about everything like he always loved to do.
“He would always be all over me about anything. ‘Come on, Backs, talk to the coach and get us a day off. Come on Backs, have a beer. Come on Backs, loosen up. Come on Backs, it’s just hockey.’
“I know I’m not as chill as you were, Johnny, but I’m working on it.”
A massive makeshift memorial outside the Scotiabank Saddledome continuously grew in the days since the Gaudreaus’ death and attracted a steady stream of visitors, some who drove several hours to see the Calgary site and pay their respects. The memorial featured jerseys, flowers and an enormous stretch of concrete covered in tributes written in chalk to honour both John and Matthew.
Whitney Mandel told Global News last Sunday that she had come after making the two-hour drive from Duchess, Alta.
“We had to come and say goodbye to Johnny,” she explained. “He was my whole 20s — watching Johnny play hockey.”
“It’s a lot, but it’s really important to come down and grieve together,” Jacqueline Cornett said while spending time at the Saddledome memorial.
While gazing at all the tributes written in chalk, Nick Haddow described the memorial as “powerful.”
“It’s surreal,” the hockey fan said. “I’m glad Calgary shows what Johnny meant to us.”
Earlier this month, John’s widow Meredith, who is also the mother of their children, posted about the Saddledome memorial on social media.
“Thank you Calgary,” she wrote.
“This is amazing. But I’m not surprised. The best people ever.”
Matthew’s widow Madeline is expecting their baby to arrive in December. A GoFundMe account was started after the deaths to raise money to support her and the baby and has now exceeded $645,000 in donations.
“He didn’t make the millions that Johnny did and doesn’t have the pension from the (NHL) Players’ Association,” said Michael Myers of the ECHL’s Worcester Railers, a team for whom Matthew had played.
“It’s important that the hockey community recognizes that and embraces that to help Matthew’s family.”
–with files from The Associated Press’ Dan Gelston And Stephen Whyno
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