The U.S. men’s hockey team honored the late Johnny Gaudreau throughout the Winter Olympics on their way to a gold medal victory in overtime against Canada.
Several team members carried Gaudreau’s jersey around the ice in Milan to honor the NHL star who was killed in New Jersey in 2024 by an alleged drunk driver. They also brought two of his children into the rink to take photos with the team.
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Players also chanted Gaudreau’s nickname “Johnny Hockey” at the Miami nightclub where they reveled on Monday night. They are moments that no player on the U.S. team will forget and it meant a lot to Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith, who watched it unfold.
“It meant the world to me,” she said in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday. “I really am so thankful to these guys for being really great friends, really great teammates. Just to include our kids and honor John the way they do, it’s all I can ask for right now. I think John would be very flattered, very humbled. It’s just really, really heartwarming that they show him that much respect and continue to do these things. It’s very touching.”
Johnny Gaudreau would have made the U.S. men’s team, according to head coach Mike Sullivan.
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Meredith Gaudreau said he would “thank them” for the way the team honored him.
“I think he’s very proud of them,” she said. “Bringing his jersey every step of the way, making him a part of this. He really, really wanted to be a part of this. I think he would be very, very thankful and very proud of these guys.”
She added that the outpouring love and support, especially from those who never met her or her family, has been truly special.
“Thank you for all the support,” she said. “All the messages. All the posts people make. I really read a lot of them, all of them almost. John’s impact impresses me more and more every day. This is a testament to that. There’s no bigger stage than this Olympics stage. Seeing worldwide that he was recognized and we have worldwide support is how it feels right now. It definitely helps on our hard days.”
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