The Gaudreau brothers left a legacy at Boston College and beyond

Flowers, sticks, bags of Skittles and bottles of purple Gatorade make up a vigil outside Conte Forum, the home rink for “Johnny Hockey” when he and his brother played at Boston College, together, for one season.

A decade later, the deaths of John and Matthew Gaudreau have hit home in the BC hockey community where they made such an indelible impact. They will be laid to rest at a funeral service Monday outside Philadelphia, but their impact on the school in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, will not soon be forgotten, along with everything they did from New Jersey to Calgary to Columbus and beyond.

“Everybody knows how gifted they were on ice, especially Johnny — an all-world type of Olympic player and college All-Star — but both players brought so much excitement to our locker room and to the dormitories and just the academic environment of BC,” former coach Jerry York said. “They left tremendous impressions on all of us. We’ll miss the hockey exploits they always had with us but more important how they were as young guys.”

John was 31 and Matthew 29 when they were struck and killed the night of Aug. 29 while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey by a suspected drunken driver on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding. Grief spread the following morning.

“We go into the gym and everyone’s got a pit in their stomach,” said Cutter Gauthier, who helped BC reach the Frozen Four final this past spring before making his NHL debut with Anaheim. “He obviously had a huge legacy at Boston College. ... To see that, it’s really heartbreaking."

The eldest Gaudreau brother was a point-a-game player as a freshman when he and the Eagles won the national title in 2012. The Calgary Flames, who drafted him a year earlier in the fourth round as an undersized prospect with plenty of talent, tried that summer and the next to convince the family John was ready to turn pro.

Then-Flames general manager Jay Feaster knew as soon as Matthew committed to BC that there was no chance of getting John to Calgary before the brothers got the chance to play together. That season was Gaudreau's best, leading the country with 36 goals, 44 assists and 80 points, and earning the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's top player.

"He was someone that I grew up watching," said Macklin Celebrini, the 2023 Hobey Baker winner at Boston University and the No. 1 NHL draft pick by San Jose. “It’s a tragedy. You never really expect something like that to happen, and even if you don’t really know him that well, it hits you hard.”

BC coach Greg Brown said everyone around the program has been in a fog since learning of the news. That extends to BC alumni, too.

“You just don’t get over things like this," said Kevin Stevens, who played there in the 1980s before a lengthy pro career in the NHL. “This is going to affect a lot of people, and myself, for a long time.”

Will Smith grew up in Massachusetts a self-professed “BC superfan” and said Gaudreau was his idol. Asked what John meant to the school, Smith responded, “Everything.”

“Even his nickname, ‘Johnny Hockey,’ it’s something that will live on forever,” Smith said this week at the NHLPA rookie showcase. “He was a really special player for that program.”

Smith, now with the Sharks, got the chance to play alongside Gaudreau with the U.S. at the world championships in Prague earlier this year and learned as much off the ice as on it.

“He was always making us laugh,” Smith said. “The one day we went golfing — a little BC group — it was Kevin Hayes, Johnny, Ryan Leonard and myself. It was just a day we went out there, played golf and it was one of those days I’ll remember.”

BC associate coach Mike Ayers remembered an interaction long after Gaudreau turned pro and became an NHL star, seeing him inexplicably stopping and starting his car on campus — in order to play “Pokémon GO” on his phone.

“That was him. That was just his way of having fun,” Ayers said. “He was just a happy-go-lucky kid.”

Since their deaths, Ayers has been talking more about how John and Matthew handled themselves outside hockey than what they did in the sport they loved.

“Matty was a leading scorer here his senior year,” Ayers said. “He was a big-time player for us, and obviously Johnny had a million accolades, but you would never know it by seeing them or interacting with them. They were just down-to-earth good people.”

The hockey spoke for itself. Lane Hutson, a Montreal prospect who played the past two seasons at Boston University said of Gaudreau, “Every time he touched the puck, it was a highlight reel.”

Sometimes when he spoke, too. Pittsburgh's Rutger McGroarty, who went to Michigan, rewatched Gaudreau's Hobey Baker acceptance speech and has heard plenty about what he was like as a person from best friend Adam Fantilli, a teammate of John's with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“The stuff that he said about him: just not one bad thing to say about the guy,” McGroarty said. “Just a smile on his face every day, coming in, laughing but also got to work.”

The games go on at BC. The school observed a moment of silence for the Gaudreau brothers — as well as Tony Voce, a former BC hockey player and Philadelphia Flyer who also died this summer — before Saturday's home football game against Duquesne.

The college season begins next month, as it does in the NHL and across the sport. The pain of the losses of the Gaudreaus will remain.

“It’s going to be a tough one,” Stevens said. “That’s a hard one. That’s going to wear on us for a long time.”

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Columbus Blue Jackets fan Scarlett Well, has a moment of silence during the candlelight vigil to honor of Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Blue Jackets fans Gianna,left, and Elijah Willis, have a moment of silence during the candlelight vigil to honor Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Fans gather for a candlelight vigil to honor Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Columbus Blue Jackets player Cole Sillinger, center, reacts during the candlelight vigil to honor Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell speaks during the candlelight vigil to honor Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Fans leave mementos as part of the candlelight vigil to honor Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Fans attend a vigil for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in Calgary, Alberta., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Fans gather for a candlelight vigil to honor Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

Fans attend a vigil for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthewin Calgary, Alberta, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Flowers and memorabilia for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew lie on the grass outside the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Former Calgary Flames player Lanny McDonald speaks at a vigil for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in Calgary, Alberta, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Fans attend a vigil for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in Calgary, Alberta, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

A memorial for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, who died last week when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles, is shown in Salem County, N.J, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.(Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Shown is a makeshift memorial for NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were killed by a suspected drunken driver as they bicycled on a rural road, Sept. 5, 2024, in Oldmans Township , N.J., Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shown is a makeshift memorial for NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were killed by a suspected drunken driver as they bicycled on a rural road, Sept. 5, 2024, in Oldmans Township , N.J., Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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)

A sign hangs above the trophy case at Boston College's Conte Forum mourning the deaths of former Eagles hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau in Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen)

A sign hangs above the trophy case at Boston College's Conte Forum mourning the deaths of former Eagles hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau in Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen)

Columbus Blue Jackets player Boone Jenner speaks during the candlelight vigil to honor Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2024, outside of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a motor vehicle last week while riding bicycles. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy assured state election officials in a letter released Monday that he'll work with them to handle their warnings of problems with election mail delivery during the primary season, while insisting that the Postal Service will be ready for the flood of mail-in ballots ahead of the November election.

The Postal Service already dealt with most concerns raised by election officials, he said, after they warned that properly addressed election mail was returned — a problem that can cause voters to be automatically placed on inactive status — and that mail-in ballots were postmarked on time but arrived after election deadlines.

DeJoy said that training is already being beefed up for postal employees and that the Postal Service is already in constant contact with election officials and will work them to address quality problems that caused incorrect deliveries or mail to be returned to sender. He also said he'd work with them to avoid a repeat of “flawed ballot envelope designs," though many envelopes were already designed and printed, officials said.

The Postal Service also has teams in place to tackle mail flagged as “undeliverable as addressed,” or any other problem that might arise with election mail, DeJoy wrote.

The concerns were raised by the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, even as former President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim he won in 2020 and seized upon the mail delivery troubles to sow doubts about the upcoming election. He repeated his claim Sunday on social media that the Postal Service is not up to the task.

In 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, election officials reported sending just over 69 million ballots in the mail, a substantial increase from four years earlier.

While the numbers this year may be smaller, many voters have embraced mail voting and come to rely on it. And both Democrats and Republicans have launched efforts to push supporters to vote early, either in person or by mail to “bank” their votes before Election Day on Nov. 5. In a sign of how quickly Election Day is approaching, the first batch of mail ballots were sent last week to absentee voters in Alabama.

Steve Simon, president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, on Monday stood by his assessment that the Postal Service has been slow to respond to concerns. He said that localized problems can be easily addressed but that “larger issues still remain.”

“If the nation’s election officials felt these issues had been properly addressed with USPS staff over the last year, then there would have been no need for our letter,” he said, referring to the airing of concerns last week.

In his response, DeJoy acknowledged that a massive network reorganization caused some temporary problems but assured the two bipartisan groups that changes are being paused to avoid slowing election mail ahead of the November election.

He suggested that Postal Service's performance in past elections should speak for itself.

Postal Service officials said that nearly 98% of ballots were returned to election officials within three days and that 99.9% of ballots were delivered within seven days in the last presidential election — at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

“As demonstrated consistently in previous elections, election mail routinely outperforms our regular service performance due to our long-standing processes and procedures,” DeJoy wrote.

First-class mail is currently averaging 2.7 days for delivery, DeJoy said, even though the two groups wrote in a letter last week that some election officials received timely postmarked ballots after Election Day and outside the three to five business days Postal Service sets as the standard for first-class mail.

Nonetheless, DeJoy said, voters shouldn’t procrastinate with mail-in ballots this election season. Both the Postal Service and state election officials are urging anyone voting by mail to return their ballots well before Election Day or to use drop boxes where available.

Associated Press writers Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. Postal Service trucks park outside a post office in Wheeling, Ill., Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)