Johnny Gaudreau, the forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets and a former Hobey Baker Award winner with the Boston College Eagles, passed away on Thursday night, along with his brother Matthew, at the age of 31.
According to multiple reports, the brothers were riding bicycles when they were struck by a drunk driver in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
The Columbus Blue Jackets released the following statement on Friday morning:
Statement from the National Hockey League and Commissioner Gary Bettman:
Known affectionately as Johnny Hockey, Gaudreau played three seasons for the Boston College men’s ice hockey team from 2011 to 2014, totaling 175 points with 78 goals for the Eagles. He was a part of B.C.’s fifth-ever National Championship team in 2012 and was the winner of the 2014 Hobey Baker Award as the best college hockey player in the nation that season after scoring 80 points with 36 goals.
Boston College Athletics has not yet released a statement.
Gaudreau scored 743 points and 243 goals during his 11-year career in the NHL. He was selected with the 101st overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames and played nine seasons for the team before signing with the Blue Jackets as a free agent in the summer of 2022.
On the international stage, Gaudreau regularly represented the United States and did so earlier this summer at the IIHF World Championships in Czechia, where he scored 11 points with three goals.
Matthew Gaudreau was 29 years old. He also played hockey at Boston College, scoring 62 points with 12 goals in four seasons from 2013-2017. He played five seasons at the professional level both in the United States and Sweden and most recently played for the Worcester Railers of the ECHL in 2022.
The Gaudreau brothers are survived by their family and friends, and their passing is being felt by everyone across the hockey world.
