The USA hockey brotherhood carried Johnny Hockey with them all the way to the gold: Mary Katharine Ham

There will be two iconic pictures of the celebration after overtime Gold-Medal win Sunday in hockey. In one, the man who scored the golden goal, Jack Hughes, smiles into the stands, shattered front teeth, fist raised in celebration, a flag draped over his shoulders— the picture of grit and glory. 

But elsewhere on the ice, in that moment, two of his teammates were planning the second iconic photo. After the Star-Spangled Banner rang out, the team gathered for a shot at center ice. Zach Werenski and Dylan Larkin skated toward the stands, gesturing to the family of their fallen former teammate, Each man hoisted a dark-haired toddler over the rails and onto the ice. They folded Gaudreaus children, 3-year-old Noa and 2-year-old Johnny Jr., into the team picture as Gaudreaus widow, Meredith, and his parents watched from the stands. 

Sundays hard-fought win against rival Canada felt fated in a lot of ways. It was played on George Washingtons birthday on It was one year after the USA lost to Canada in the finals of the 4 Nations Face-Off, setting up an Olympic grudge match for the ages. It also happened to be the 46th anniversary of the 1980 Miracle on Ice, the last time Americas men took Gold in hockey, at the Lake Placid Olympics. And for many in the arena, it was played for Johnny, whose family had been enveloped just this way by the “hockey brotherhood,” as Hughes called it in a post-game interview, since his tragic death in 2024. 

On August 29, 2024, Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were on a bike ride in New Jersey when life took a horrific turn. The Columbus Blue Jackets phenom, who was known as “Johnny Hockey,” was in town with family for his sisters wedding when an allegedly drunk driver tried to pass a slower car and struck the Gaudreau brothers, 31 and 29, who were riding on the right side of the road. Johnny and Matthew died at the scene, leaving behind two wives, two sisters, two parents, and Johnnys two young children. The driver will face trial this month in New Jersey.

At the memorial service for the brothers, we learned life had taken another turn before their deaths. Meredith Gaudreau, Johnnys wife, announced she was pregnant with their third child, “a total surprise.” 

“John and I had the best six months as a family of four. These will forever be the best six months of my life,” she said at the memorial service. “There’s specifically one week that I will cherish forever — it will be my favorite week of my life out of those six months. We’re actually a family of five. I’m in my ninth week of pregnancy with our third baby.”

Madeline Gaudreau, Matthews wife, was pregnant with their first child. 

Since then, Carter Michael Gaudreau, Johnnys son, and Tripp Matthew Gaudreau, Matthews son, have been added to the family roster. The family marvels at how much they look like their dads, so much so that their mother Jane told the AP last year that it felt a little like God had given them “John and Matty back.”

Add to the list of those who survive the Gaudreau brothers, two children they will never get to meet. But when the brothers couldnt be there for them, the brotherhood was.

Johnny Hockey was a star, a decorated collegiate player at Boston College before going pro with the Calgary Flames in 2014, where he scored the only goal of the night on the very first game of his career CHECK. He represented the USA on multiple World Championship teams and would have been on the 4 Nations team in 2025 and Olympic team in 2026 had his life not been cut short. 

USA Hockey did not forget him. Instead, they carried Johnny with them wherever they played. Gaudreau had a locker at the 4 Nations Face-Off, his jersey hanging inside. Before that final game in 2025— a gutting 3-2 overtime loss for the Team USA — Mike Eruzione, of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal team, wore Gaudreaus jersey as an honorary captain. 

There have been 5Ks to raise money for their childhood school, whic