“Johnny Hockey,” as he was known, would have been 32 today.
“We miss him and Matty so dearly,” forward Brady Tkachuk said. “He would have been on this team. He’s touched everybody on that ice. … We just wanted to show the Gaudreau family our support. He was so near and dear to a lot of us, and we miss him greatly, and we did it for them.”
The Gaudreau family attended the game. When the Americans took a team picture afterward, forward Dylan Larkin held Gaudreau’s son, Johnny Jr., and Werenski held his daughter, Noa. Larkin and Matthew Tkachuk held Gaudreau’s jersey.
“It meant everything,” Werenski said. “This is something John would have been at, and to see his family here supporting us, seeing his kids, bringing them on the ice … we talked about playing for him, making him proud, and I think we did that. Super special to see them and to have his kids on the ice. He was a huge part of USA Hockey.”