Johnny Gaudreau's Jersey To Be Retired By His USHL Team

Before starring at Boston College and in the NHL with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, diminutive left winger Johnny Gaudreau jump-started his career with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Gaudreau died tragically last summer at just 31 years old, but he will forever be an inspiration to Dubuque players and opponents who play at the Fighting Saints rink and see his No. 8 jersey on display.

On Saturday night, the Saints will honor Gaudreau – who became one of the team’s owners in 2018 – by having his number retired before their home game against Sioux City. He is the first player in franchise history to be given that honor, and the memorial service will include his parents, Guy and Jane, his widow, Meredith, and his sisters, Katie and Kristen.

Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, 29, were riding bikes when they were struck by a drunk driver and killed on Aug. 29 near their childhood home in Salem County, N.J.

Glenn Hefferan, the USHL commissioner, will announce Saturday the creation of the Gaudreau Award. Each USHL team will nominate a player who shows the qualities of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, including hockey excellence, the spirit of the game, care and responsibility.

‘Inspiration to Every Young Hockey Player’

Having Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 8 jersey hanging from the rafters “will be an inspiration to every young hockey player who plays in this area, and particularly to those players who suit up for the Fighting Saints,” said Brad Kwong, managing partner of the team. “His enthusiastic spirit and love for the game will forever be present.”

Seven years ago, Gaudreau was part of a group that purchased an equity share of the Fighting Saints, along with forward Zemgus Girgensons (now with the Tampa Bay Lightning), Dan Bylsma (now the Seattle Kraken coach) and Peter Luukko, a former NHL executive with Philadelphia and Florida.

Luukko was once the Philadelphia Flyers’ president and had known Gaudreau for a while. Gaudreau grew up close to Philadelphia and played for the Little Flyers and was a high school star at nearby Gloucester Catholic. Luukko’s son, Nick, was teammates with Gaudreau at Dubuque (as was Girgensons), and their families became intertwined, spending time together at the Jersey Shore.

In Gaudreau’s only season at Dubuque, the then-17-year-old left winger had a team-high 72 points (36 goals, 36 assists) in 60 games for coach Jim Montgomery (now coach of the St. Louis Blues) and keyed their run to the USHL championship before he attended Boston College. At BC, he eventually won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in collegiate hockey.

Business Partners

Fast-forward to 2018, and Luukko and Gaudreau became business partners with the Fighting Saints. Luukko had known Gaudreau – who, like hundreds of youngsters, was taught to skate by his father/coach, Guy – since he was about 10 years old and playing peewee hockey in the Philadelphia area.

“Once Johnny became a star, he wanted to do something special and give back to the next generation of players – and he did so by purchasing a stake in the Dubuque Fighting Saints,” said Luukko, who will attend Saturday’s ceremony.

Luukko, mentioning their busy schedules, said he and Gaudreau “were passive investors in many ways. Obviously, with his season going on, Johnny didn’t have a lot of (spare) time.”

That said, Gaudreau loved being a part of the franchise.

“The first day I stepped into Dubuque, I knew it was a special place,” Gaudreau said in 2018. “I have a lot of special memories in Dubuque, including winning it all in 2011. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Luukko stayed in touch with the Gaudreau family over the years. When his son, Nick, coached with the Reading Royals in the ECHL, Matt Gaudreau played on the team.

“And you would always see a lot of his family at the games,” Peter Luukko said. “They were always about the family.”

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