Remembering Johnny Hockey: Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matthew shined on and off the ice

Getting a nickname in hockey is not only a sign of affection but a sense that a player has really made it. Wayne Gretzky became the “Great One,” Mario Lemieux was “Super Mario” and the late Gordie Howe remains “Mr. Hockey” to the sport's players and fans everywhere.

“Johnny Hockey” was the one bestowed on Johnny Gaudreau, and it stuck to the talented, beloved player wherever he went. It was a reminder of his skills and unselfishness on and off the ice that made it all the more painful when word spread that the 31-year-old standout for the Columbus Blue Jackets died Thursday night along with younger brother Matthew when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver near their childhood home on the eve of their sister's wedding in Philadelphia.

Gaudreau never got the chance to put together a full NHL career like Gretzky, Lemieux or Howe, yet everyone in the sport knew who he was: A kid from Carneys Point, New Jersey, who thrived despite being well under 6 feet tall, a pioneer of sorts for players who make up for a lack of size with skill, speed and energy.

The brothers grew up in hockey, playing for the Little Flyers and even getting to spend a year together as teammates at Boston College in 2013-14. It was the season Johnny Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA player in the country, and his brother was there to be a part of it.

“Both Matty and Johnny were terrifically admired by all of us: Wonderful young guys, and they impressed a lot of us off ice," recalled Jerry York, who coached them at BC.

The eldest Gaudreau brother, Johnny was picked by Calgary in the fourth round of the NHL draft in 2011. His boyhood team, the Philadelphia Flyers, were interested but only in later rounds, considering he was at the time about 5-foot-7 or so.

Flames head scout Tod Button had no trouble making a case for Gaudreau to then-general manager Jay Feaster, who knew all about undersized players from running the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup with dynamic — and small — Martin St. Louis as one of their best players.

“Tod and his staff had seen him play a lot, and he just felt that he was a special player: his hands and his vision and his hockey sense,” Feaster said Friday. “He was convinced, even though he’s a small guy, that he was going to be able to play. ... I said: ‘I believe in you. If you believe in him that strongly, then let’s do it because I know that small guys can play in the game.'”

Feaster and assistant Craig Conroy the next couple of summers visited with Gaudreau and his family at Hollydell Ice Arena, which father Guy managed, to encourage Johnny to turn pro. His mother, Jane, wondered about her son's size at the NHL level and had many questions about the next step.

Family, as always, came first.

“When it came around that his brother was going to be going to BC to play as well and they’d play together, Craig and I knew we weren’t going to get him out early,” Feaster said.

Following his college stardom and a year on campus together with his brother, Gaudreau broke into the league at 5-foot-9 and less than 180 pounds. He was voted to the all-rookie team in his first season. He made seven All-Star Weekend appearances over a decade with the Flames and Blue Jackets.

Along the way, he became Johnny Hockey to a far wider fan base than the faithful following Boston College.

“There are few players in hockey history who matched his passion and love for the game of hockey,” said longtime executive Brian Burke, who knew Gaudreau from his time running the Flames and the U.S. men's national team. “His talent on the ice was enhanced, not diminished, by the fact that he was having fun out there.”

Gaudreau was a nearly point-a-game player with 776 points in 805 regular-season and playoff games. His 743 regular-season points rank in the top 30 of all U.S.-born players. Gaudreau also owns the men’s world championship records by a U.S. player with 30 assists and 43 points.

Two years ago, Gaudreau left Calgary to sign a seven-year contract worth nearly $69 million with the Blue Jackets that put him and his young family in Ohio, closer to home in New Jersey.

Burke remembered something else about his former player too: A willingness to go beyond the game.

“First and foremost, Johnny was always the first to raise his hand to give back to his community. When we had any charity requests, we always knew he would say yes, without hesitation," he said. "His love of his family, friends and alma mater was always apparent and was clearly the driving force in his life.”

Family members always called him John, with the “Johnny Hockey” nickname coming from his days at BC. They trademarked it only so they would have some say over how it was used.

“We’ll never, ever make a penny with it,” Guy Gaudreau told the Courier-Post in South Jersey in 2015. “We’re not looking to make a penny with it. We just don’t want it to be abused. If it comes to the point where ‘Johnny Hockey’ becomes really popular, like if cancer people want to do fundraisers, we’ll let them do all the fundraising they want with it and they can have all the money.”

In the same interview before Gloucester Catholic High School retired Gaudreau's number, Guy said his son "just wants to play hockey. If Calgary told him, ‘We’re not paying you this year,’ he’d say, ‘Well, can I still play hockey?’”

He and his brother took different paths in the sport they loved, with Johnny finding NHL stardom and Matthew playing in the minors with a stint in Sweden before retiring two years ago and going to serve as boys hockey coach at Gloucester Catholic. They were back together this week for sister Katie's wedding. Matthew, 29, and his wife were reportedly expecting their first child.

Hours after the tragedy, Feaster's thoughts were not about Gaudreau's magnificent career but the loss of two sons, husbands and fathers far too soon.

“For me it isn’t about the hockey,” Feaster said. “It’s about the family. It’s about his mom and dad and his sisters and his children, his wife. That’s the tough part. It isn’t the hockey. It’s the human beings.”

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Hylas Stemen, sitting, of Columbus, mourns at a memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Gavin Rose signs a number thirteen at a memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Kaitlin O'Hara of Columbus, places flowers at a memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

A memorial is set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

A memorial is set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

From left; Jamie, Gavin and John Rose pay their respects at a memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Keepsakes are left at a memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Shiloh Rivera, left, mourns with Hylas Stemen, center, and Amanda Rivera of Columbus at a memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 30, 2024. Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was fatally struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Thursday. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau plays during an NHL hockey game, Jan. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau (13) plays against the Nashville Predators during the second period of an NHL hockey game, April 13, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau (13) awaits the face-off during an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, March 9, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster, File)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau looks on during an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)

FILE - Quinnipiac goalie Michael Garteig (34) makes the save on a shot by Boston College forward Matthew Gaudreau (21) during the first period of an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal NCAA college hockey game Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Boston College NCAA college hockey player Johnny Gaudreau celebrates his goal against Notre Dame during the third period of quarterfinal round match at the Hockey East Tournament in Chestnut Hill, Mass., March 15, 2014. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via AP)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Ja’Quinden Jackson ran for 147 yards and a touchdown and Taylen Green picked up 96 yards on the ground with two scores as Arkansas beat Alabama-Birmingham 37-27 on Saturday.

Jackson’s score, a 16-yard dash early in the third quarter, broke a 20-all tie to give Arkansas (2-1) its first lead. UAB had little answer for him whenever he ran the ball as his yardage total came on just 15 carries.

Green, Arkansas’ starting quarterback, countered his sub-par throwing day with his rushing results. He tied the game at 17 in the third quarter on a 14-yard touchdown and provided a 9-yard insurance touchdown with 3:38 left after Arkansas had taken a three-point lead. In the air, he was just 11 of 26 for 161 yards with an interception.

The Blazers (1-2) led 17-3 early in the second quarter, having scored on their first three drives. The second drive needed to go only 15 yards after Green was intercepted in his own red zone. Jared Zeno, who threw three touchdown passes for UAB, found Kam Shanks for a 15-yard score to put Arkansas down by a touchdown before Zeno connected with Amare Thomas for a 34-yard score on the next drive to make it a two-score game.

Arkansas scored five of the next six times as Braylen Russell added a rushing touchdown and Kyle Ramsey made two field goals to provide the Razorbacks with a 30-20 lead in the fourth quarter. Zeno found Dallas Payne for his third touchdown of the game midway through the fourth before Green led the 7-play, 75-yard drive that ultimately proved the game-changer.

Jackson, a Utah transfer, became the first Arkansas player with 100-yard games in each of his first three in a Razorbacks uniform since Alex Collins in 2015. Collins, Arkansas’ second-leading rusher in school history, died last year in a motorcycle wreck. He was honored during the game along with other members of the 2024 Arkansas Hall of Honor.

UAB is likely neither as bad as the team that lost to Louisiana-Monroe in Week 2 by 26 points nor as good as the team that lost to Arkansas by 10 on Saturday. The Blazers’ ride in the AAC could be just as chaotic.

Arkansas wasn’t especially impressive, but after last year’s 4-8 season and last week’s double-overtime loss to Oklahoma State, putting a team away in a close game is a large step forward.

UAB hosts Navy in AAC play on Saturday.

Arkansas travels to Auburn to open the SEC schedule on Saturday.

UAB wide receiver Kam Shanks (8) slips past Arkansas defensive back TJ Metcalf (18) to score a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)