Heartbreaking moment a young Johnny Gaudreau fan adds hockey stick to growing tributes outside Columbus Blue Jackets arena
A young Blue Jackets fan went viral after adding a hockey stick to a memorial site honoring Johnny Gaudreau outside Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
X-ray footage on Friday shows the boy in a Blue Jackets jersey placing the hockey stick on several bouquets of flowers in front of Gaudreau, a former left winger, near the entrance to the team’s stadium.
On the end of the stick was number 13, Gaudreau’s jersey number.
NHL fans’ hearts melted when they watched the clip online.
“That’s such a touching gesture from a young Blue Jackets fan adding his number 13 stick to the Johnny Gaudreau monument. It’s moments like this that show the unity and respect within the hockey community,” one user commented on X.
A young boy placed a hockey stick with Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey number on it outside the Blue Jackets’ arena in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, where a memorial has been set up for the NHL star
“This hurts my heart,” said someone else.
“Ugh. So sad,” shared another hockey fan.
“Heartbreaking!” commented one user. “This is what hockey is all about,” said another.
Gaudreau, 31, and his younger brother Matthew were killed Thursday night when they were struck by a suspected drunk truck driver while they were riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said Friday.
Gaudreau and Matthew, 29, originally from Carneys Point, New Jersey, were to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding, scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
Gaudreau, known as ‘Johnny Hockey’, would be entering his third season with the Blue Jackets
Tributes to Gaudreau have poured in online since his shocking death hit the news.
Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 11 NHL seasons and was entering his third with the Blue Jackets. He played his first nine seasons with the Calgary Flames, a period during which he became one of the game’s best players and a fan favorite across North America.
Gaudreau, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill, when being short was less of a disadvantage.
He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star, in which he had a personal best of 40 goals and 75 assists.