Accomplished greatness in NHL, college with intelligence, vision, creativity, joy
© Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika
@cotsonika NHL.com Columnist
Johnny Gaudreau the player will be remembered forever as Johnny Hockey, the little guy who became a big star, the small forward who left a large legacy with his skill and spirit.
Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, died Thursday when they were struck by a car while riding bicycles at home in Salem County, New Jersey. Johnny was 31. Matthew was 29.
When the Columbus Blue Jackets released a statement Friday, they summed up what Johnny Hockey meant to the sport: “Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played.”
You might not have thought much of Gaudreau just by looking at him.
He was 5-foot-6, 137 pounds when the Calgary Flames selected him in the fourth round (No. 104) in the 2011 NHL Draft. Among the 211 players taken that year, he was tied for the shortest. He was the lightest by 13 pounds.
NHL Network honors Gaudreau family after passing of Johnny and Matthew
His coach -- Jim Montgomery, then of Dubuque of the United States Hockey League, now of the Boston Bruins -- told the Calgary Herald after the draft that it was “a brave pick.” Gaudreau told the newspaper that his team had allowed fans to watch tryouts the previous year.
“My mom was sitting in the stands behind these two older guys who thought they knew a whole bunch about hockey,” Gaudreau said then. “They were like, ‘Ah, look at that little kid! He’s never going to make it!’ And my mom was getting so mad.”
Even last season, his 11th in the NHL, Gaudreau, all grown up, was all of 5-9, 163. Among the 1,022 players who appeared in the League, only 15 were shorter. Only five were lighter.
Yet look at what he accomplished and how he accomplished it -- with intelligence, with vision, with creativity, with joy.
Gaudreau was the USHL rookie of the year and helped Dubuque win the Clark Cup in 2010-11. The next season, he led NCAA freshmen with 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 44 games, was most valuable player of the Beanpot tournament and helped Boston College win a national title.
Look at the goal he scored late in the third period of a 4-1 win against Ferris State in the title game: With a defender on his back in the neutral zone, he kicked the puck up to his stick, crossed the blue line, turned a defender inside out and backhanded the puck into the net.
© Ward Benjamin, Hockey Hall of Fame
Gaudreau led the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in goals (seven in seven games) and helped the United States win gold, while leading the NCAA in points per game (1.45), helping Boston College win the Beanpot again and being named Hockey East player of the year as a sophom*ore.
He came back to Boston College for his junior year instead of going pro.
One of the main reasons: to play with Matthew.
Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player after leading the nation in goals (36), assists (44) and points (80) in 40 games, and he signed with Calgary the same day, April 11, 2014. Two days later, he made his NHL debut and scored on his first shot.
© Matt Zambonin, IIHF/Hockey Hall of Fame
The little kid made it.
Then he excelled.
Gaudreau never played a game in the minors. In 2014-15, he tied for the rookie lead with 64 points (24 goals, 40 assists) in 80 games and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the NHL rookie of the year. Two years later, he won the Lady Byng Trophy, which goes to the player voted to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and playing ability. He had 61 points (18 goals, 43 assists) in 72 games with only four penalty minutes.
Two years after that, he finished fourth in the voting for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the NHL most valuable player.
And three years after that, he set NHL career highs in goals (40), assists (75) and points (115) in 82 games, tying for second in the NHL in scoring and earning another fourth place in the Hart voting. He scored from a bad angle in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round against the Dallas Stars, sending the Flames to the second round for the first time in seven years, raising his arms high in triumph. The Scotiabank Saddledome and the streets outside erupted.
© Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images
Gaudreau ranks fifth in Flames history in assists (399) and points (609). He shocked the hockey world by signing with the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent July 13, 2022.
One of the main reasons: family.
He and his wife, Meredith, grew up in the Philadelphia area and were expecting. They’d be an hour away by plane from the soon-to-be grandparents, 6 1/2 hours away by car.
They had two children born in Columbus -- a daughter, Noa, and a son, Johnny.
It’s heartbreaking.
From 2014-24, Gaudreau ranked seventh in assists (500) and ninth in points (742) in the NHL. He appeared in the NHL All-Star Game seven times. He grew up as a player and a person -- as a husband, as a father.
The little guy leaves a huge hole.
