Johnny Gaudreau’s number will be retired by the junior USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints
FILE – Shown is a makeshift memorial for NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were killed by a suspected drunken driver as they bicycled on a rural road, Sept. 5, 2024, in Oldmans Township , N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
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Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey number will be retired by his junior team at a ceremony this weekend honoring him and his late brother, Matthew.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League will raise Gaudreau’s No. 8 to the rafters on Saturday with the brothers’ parents, Guy and Jane, sisters Katie and Kristen, and Johnny’s widow, Meredith, scheduled to be in attendance at the arena in eastern Iowa.
“It was an honor befitting of his contribution to the organization and also obviously the sad circumstances that happened,” Fighting Saints part owner Peter Luukko told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “He was one of the better players in the history of the team.”
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau died Aug. 29 when they were struck by an SUV while riding bicycles on a rural New Jersey road near their hometown of Carneys Point. The driver charged with killing them pleaded not guilty earlier this week after turning down a prosecution offer of 35 years in prison.
Gaudreau’s No. 8 — not the No. 13 he is better known for wearing while playing at Boston College, in the NHL with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets and internationally while representing the U.S. — will be the first retired in franchise history. Gaudreau was Dubuque’s leading scorer the season he played there (2010-11) and led it to winning the Clark Cup as USHL champions.
“When we were assembling the team that first year, we looked for players with a high hockey IQ and compete level who came from good families,” said Jim Montgomery, who coached three seasons in Dubuque before moving on to the University of Denver and the NHL’s Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and now the St. Louis Blues. “Johnny was the epitome of those qualities. He was a uniquely gifted player who came from an equally special family. It’s only fitting that the Fighting Saints retire his number as no other player could be his equal.”
Managing partner Brad Kwong said in a statement that he hopes Gaudreau’s number hanging in the rafters “will be an inspiration to every young hockey player who plays in this arena and particularly to those players who suit up for the Fighting Saints. His enthusiastic spirit and love for the game will forever be present.”
Also expected at the ceremony is USHL Commissioner Glenn Hefferan, who will announce the Gaudreau Award to be given to a player who embodies Johnny and Matthew’s qualities of excellence in hockey, spirit of the game, and care and responsibility. The Fighting Saints will donate proceeds from their 50/50 drawing during their game against the Sioux City Musketeers to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation, which will fund an adaptive playground at a school for kids with disabilities in South Jersey.
“We have to remember each other, support each other,” said Luukko, a former NHL executive whose sons Nick and Max played hockey growing up in the Philadelphia area at the same time as Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. “It’s a very tight-knit community, and you don’t want to ever forget those who came before you, whether it’s a veteran player or for something as tragic as the accident with the Gaudreau brothers.”
Johnny Gaudreau in 2018 became a minority owner in the club as part of Saints4Life Acquisitions LLC, a group including Luukko, NHL player Zemgus Girgensons and Stanley Cup-winning coach Dan Bylsma.
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