Overflowing. An overflowing amount of love for the Gaudreau family, a name long synonymous with South Jersey hockey, surrounded the family at Hollydell Ice Arena on Friday, Sept. 13. A near-capacity crowd gathered to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau before the Philadelphia Rebels game against the Northeast Generals. 

The South Jersey community paid tribute to the Gaudreau brothers who were tragically killed on Aug. 29, by a suspected drunk driver while riding their bikes in Salem County, New Jersey. 

Joel Elvers, born and raised in Calgary, an eventual landing spot for Johnny Gaudreau, attended the game. Elvers moved to New Jersey in 2014 when he married his wife. For Elvers, the game brought back a lot of memories and emotions.

“The feelings I had at the ceremony are hard to put into words. Seeing the amount of people wearing Flames jerseys and shirts was also bittersweet. It almost felt like I was back in Calgary,” Elvers said. “The crowd was almost overwhelming.”

Elvers reflected on an emotional moment with the Gaudreaus last week.

“During the ceremony, I felt very sad for the family. It made me think of when I went to the Gaudreau Memorial at Gloucester Catholic High School. Guy [Johnny and Matthew’s dad] hugged me at this event, and I wanted to give one back to him at the ice rink,” said Elvers.

During the Rebels’ game, friends of Guy took to the adjacent rink donned in black and white Gaudreau jerseys with their Boston College numbers on the back.

Bill McCullen, who got the jerseys for the team said, “We’ve all known Guy for years and he’s done a lot for the hockey community. We just wanted to show him how thankful we are for him and show a sign of support during this tragic time.” 

Friday’s games were two of many events held throughout Canada and the United States over the course of the past three weeks to honor the Gaudreaus. The game of hockey took the brothers to Calgary, Boston, Columbus, Iowa, Nebraska, California, Connecticut, and Sweden–to name a few. Eventually the brothers reached the National Hockey League (NHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). But the legacy of these two brothers began at Hollydell, where Guy served as Hockey Director and Coach.

Rowan University women’s ice hockey assistant coach and Rowan Alumni, Dan DiMonte witnessed Guy’s impact firsthand.

“He built up the rink from being just a small South Jersey place, to developing, somewhere upwards of 30 to 40 to 50, Division 1 hockey players. Of course his two sons were two of them, but there were plenty of players from birth years 1989 to 1997 that he personally impacted,” DiMonte said. 

DiMonte played in a tournament with Johnny Gaudreau in 2004.

“I was in my first year at Hollydell. I was fourteen and he was eleven. He came to play with us in a tournament because we were short a player. He was so good and so fun to be around,” DiMonte said. “He would skate circles around everyone. He was cheering everyone on, he had this big smile on his face. You could just tell that there was something different about him.”

Guy coached his sons for a majority of their formative years. He started coaching for Gloucester Catholic High School in 2006 as an assistant coach and served as head coach from 2007 to 2018. Both Johnny and Matthew attended Gloucester Catholic High School. Matthew went on to graduate in 2013, while Johnny graduated from Dubuque Senior High School in 2011 as a member of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL). 

Matthew played for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL from 2011 to 2013. Johnny was drafted in the fourth round, 104th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL draft, but chose to attend Boston College where he would reunite with Matthew for the 2013-2014 season. While at Boston College, John earned his famous nickname of “Johnny Hockey” and won the Hobey Baker award as the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) best player in 2014.

Guy continued to coach at Hollydell until 2022.

“He came back after both of them were in college and coached a couple more birth years and some of those players are about to play Division I. He has had a tremendous impact on the South Jersey hockey family,” DiMonte said. 

Johnny made his NHL debut in the last game of the 2013-2014 season, where he scored his first of 243 NHL goals that day. In the 2016-2017 season, Johnny won the League’s Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which in addition to a player’s skill, highlights their sportsmanship on the ice. He was also a seven-time NHL All Star. After nine seasons in Calgary, Johnny signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022 to be closer to his family. 

Like Johnny, Elvers and his father shared a strong connection with hockey.

“The most cherished memories I have of him came during his rookie season in 2014-2015. In March of 2015, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer and given months to live. Around the same time, the Calgary Flames were trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The team had been in decline and was in the middle of a rebuild, but Johnny Gaudreau was making a name for himself in Calgary. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy [best rookie in the NHL] that season and brought a competitive edge to the team not seen in years,” Elvers said. “Once the Flames made the playoffs, Gaudreau played a big role in propelling the team to the second round for the first time since 2004. I was living in New Jersey by this time, but I was able to be on the phone with my dad as we watched the games together. That was very special.” 

Elvers recalled his trip home to Calgary.

“As my dad’s health continued deteriorating, I took a flight back up to Calgary so I could be with him and help my family take care of him. When I arrived, game three of the second round was on and we watched it together. The Flames went into this game down 2-0 in the series,” Elvers said. “Losing this game would all but seal their fate. Johnny Gaudreau scored the tying goal with 19.5 seconds left in the 3rd period and the Flames won in overtime.”

Elvers continued to make hockey-related memories with his father during the 2015 Playoffs.

“I was actually able to take my dad to game four of that series. In that game, Johnny had a tremendous rush up the ice, deking and dangling past several opposing players on his way to the net. Sean Monahan was there to tap in his rebound. I’ll never forget how incredibly loud the crowd was in that moment, as I jumped up in excitement at that play,” Elvers said. “The Flames did end up being eliminated a game later, but I still cherish those memories I had with my dad at the hands of Johnny Gaudreau. My dad died in June of that year.” 

Matthew played professionally in the AHL and East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) after Boston College. He spent time with the New York Islander’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2017-2019) and the Stockton Heat (2019-2020). Matthew played for the Worcester Railers (2017-2019) (2021-2022) and the Reading Royals (2019-2020) of the ECHL. Matthew also played overseas in Sweden for the Tyringe SoSS during the 2020-2021 season. 

No matter where the brothers ended up- they never forgot their South Jersey roots. The family started the annual Johnny Gaudreau Scholarship Golf Tournament in 2016. The tournament’s proceeds help fund Gloucester Catholic’s scholarships. Both brothers wanted to see the school do well and visited over the years.

“They showed up to practices and camps, just to be around the guys,” DiMonte said. “I just remember them being selfless in that way.” 

Matthew returned to Hollydell as the assistant coach of the Philadelphia Hockey Club for the 2021-2022 season. He then served as the assistant coach of the Philadelphia Rebels and as the head coach for Gloucester Catholic from 2022 to 2024. In July 2024, Matthew accepted a coaching position with the West Chester Wolves. 

DiMonte worked with Matthew when he coached for the Philadelphia Hockey Club.

“He was really instrumental in being a mentor for the younger kids,” DiMonte said. “I had the pleasure my second year coaching the men’s team to help out with the junior camp and I got the chance to meet Matty and be around him.” 

Matthew also took the time to say hello to everyone he came across and was continuing the Gaudreau legacy at Hollydell.

“I thought, here we go again. We’ve got the next Gaudreau, ready to do what his dad did best, which was to help develop the younger kids,” DiMonte said.

It is clear to see that Matthew and Johnny did just that. Two kids on the smaller side from a small town in South Jersey reached thousands of kids across two countries in big ways. The biggest perhaps being the fact that they reminded kids to believe in themselves – something DiMonte wrote on a stick he left at the memorial.

“I wrote on the stick, ‘thank you for paving the way for everyone to know that you can make it,” DiMonte said. “They gave everyone hope.”

On Friday it was announced that Hollydell’s “Future’s Rink” will now be called the “Gaudreau Rink,” once again reminding the generations to come that hope is tangible and comes in all shapes and sizes. 

The family is currently accepting donations. Those interested in donating can find out more information at this link:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-madeline-and-baby-tripp-after-tragedy

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