{"id":483944,"date":"2026-02-16T15:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T15:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483944\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T15:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T15:57:09","slug":"u-s-mens-hockey-team-honors-johnny-gaudreau-at-milan-cortina-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483944\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. men\u2019s hockey team honors Johnny Gaudreau at Milan Cortina Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. men\u2019s ice hockey team is playing for more than just a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics. <\/a><\/p>\n

Inside the team\u2019s locker room at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, a jersey with the number 13 hangs proudly, honoring the late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow along for live coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

Gaudreau, 31, who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames, and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were fatally struck by an alleged drunk driver while they were bicycling in New Jersey in August 2024. They were killed the night before their sister\u2019s wedding. The sudden tragedy sent shock waves through the hockey community, with tributes pouring in from teammates, coaches and fans across the NHL.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Gaudreau played for Team USA in six different international events, including five International Ice Hockey Federation Men\u2019s World Championships, tallying 43 points in 40 games, the most points in USA men\u2019s IIHF history. Gaudreau was considered a strong contender to make the U.S. Olympic team. <\/p>\n

The Gaudreau family put out a statement on social media ahead of the men\u2019s Olympic hockey tournament in Milan, which expressed their \u201cheartache knowing how much this moment meant to John.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family described Gaudreau\u2019s desire to represent Team USA. \u201cIn that final summer, John was training harder than ever, with his dad, pushing himself to be in the best shape of his life. He was determined to earn his spot on that Olympic roster,\u201d the Gaudreau family said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it breaks our hearts that John won\u2019t be there to live out that dream, we know he will be so very present with Team USA and all of his close friends competing throughout these games,\u201d the family said.<\/p>\n

The family added a message of support for Gaudreau\u2019s former teammates. <\/p>\n

\u201cGo Team USA. We know John and Matty are watching with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaudreau\u2019s teammates expressed a similar sentiment. <\/p>\n

\"Gaudreau'sGaudreau’s jersey hangs in the U.S. men’s national team locker room at the Milan Olympics. USA Hockey<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know he\u2019s here with us, cheering us on and rooting for us,\u201d alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk said. \u201cHe\u2019s got his own area in the locker room and it\u2019s always nice to see that as a reminder,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Teammate Zach Werenski played with Gaudreau on the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2022 -2024. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know how much Johnny wanted to be here for the Four Nations and the Olympics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gaudreau and Werenski represented Team USA together in the 2024 men\u2019s World Championship. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super special to see his jersey hanging, and we\u2019re playing for him and trying to make him proud,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

U.S. men\u2019s hockey team head coach \u2014 and current head coach of the NHL\u2019s New York Rangers \u2014 Mike Sullivan acknowledged what Johnny\u2019s legacy means to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did it in the Four Nations tournament a year ago, and we\u2019re carrying that jersey with us here in Milan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that our team is celebrating him throughout this tournament just speaks volumes to the character and the person that Johnny was,\u201d he said. \u201cI know how much he meant to a lot of the guys in that room.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The U.S. men\u2019s ice hockey team is playing for more than just a gold medal at the Milan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-483944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}