MEDIA, Pa. (AP) — A day after hundreds of mourners paid their respects to the family of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau during a public meeting Broomall, Pennsylvania, close friends, family and teammates of the brothers will gather Monday for their funeral.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, for whom Johnny was playing at the time of his death, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman are among the family members who will attend the funeral service for the Gaudreaus, who died after they were killed. hit by suspected drunk driver while riding their bicycles in Salem County, New Jersey.
The memorial service is scheduled for Monday afternoon at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Delaware County. John, an All-Star for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets known as “Johnny Hockey,” and Matthew, who played college hockey with his brother Boston Collegedied on the eve of their sister’s wedding.
Countless members of the hockey community from Columbus to South Jersey to Boston College are expected to join family and friends for the funeral. John was 31 and Matthew was 29.
The brothers have been mourned throughout the sports worldincluding Columbus, Ohio, where Gaudreau signed a free-agent deal with the small-market Blue Jackets in 2022 instead of more lucrative free-agent offers from other teams, including New Jersey. Fans and Blue Jackets players gathered for an emotional candlelight vigil last week, and a similar gathering was held in Calgary.
Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said the entire team would be at the funeral. Bettman and former BC coach Jerry York were also expected to be among the many in attendance.
“The way they carried themselves on campus and the fun they had with the guys every day, it was really fun to be around them,” Boston College assistant coach Mike Ayres said. “They were both very, very talented hockey players, but they were great people to be around and they made everything around them fun.”
A GoFundMe for Matthew’s widow Madeline, to support her and their baby due in December, has raised more than $600,000, with donations from nearly 9,000 people, including many NHL players and their families.
“He didn’t make the millions that Johnny made and he doesn’t have a pension from the Players’ Association,” said Michael Myers of the Worcester Railers of the ECHL, where Matthew played for two seasons. “It’s important that the hockey community recognizes that and embraces it to help Matthew’s family.”
The Gaudreau brothers were riding their bicycles on a road in Oldmans Township around 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind, New Jersey State Police said. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and faces two counts of vehicular homicide, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and use of alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was jailed pending a hearing on Sept. 13.
The brothers have been celebrated on various social media platforms since their deaths. Katie Gaudreau, the little sister who was supposed to get married the day after the brothers’ deaths, has posted photos of her family in happier times on social media.
This past weekend, it was an Instagram video captioned “Birds for the Gaudreau boys,” above a clip of John Gaudreau shedding his winter coat to reveal an Eagles jersey as he goes through security before an NHL game. She also posted a family slideshow tribute called “That day,” in which she wrote that she “would do anything to tell my big brothers I love them one more time.”
Devin Joyce, the expected groom and a college hockey player, wrote of his promise to “take the very best care of your little sister.”
“I know I never said it, but I loved you guys so much,” he added. “I’m so glad I got to call you two my brothers for so long.”
