A young Blue Jackets fan has gone viral for adding a hockey stick to a memorial site honoring Johnny Gaudreau outside Nationwide Arena, in Columbus, Ohio.
On Friday, footage shared by 10TV Sports on X shows the little boy in a Blue Jackets jersey laying the hockey stick on top of several bouquets for Gaudreau – a former left winger – next to an entrance to the team’s arena.
The stick had No. 13 – Gaudreau’s jersey number – on the end.
NHL fans’ hearts melted after watching the clip online.
‘That’s such a touching gesture from the young Blue Jackets fan, adding his stick with the number 13 to the Johnny Gaudreau memorial. It’s moments like these that show the unity and respect within the hockey community,’ a user reacted on X.
A young boy laid a hockey stick with Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey number on it outside the Blue Jackets’ arena in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, where a memorial site was made for the NHL star
‘this hurts my heart,’ said someone else.
‘Ugh. So sad,’ another hockey fan shared.
‘Heartbreaking!’ a user pointed out. ‘Now this is what hockey is about,’ said another.
Gaudreau, 31, and his younger brother, Matthew, were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken, truck driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said Friday.
Gaudreau and Matthew, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives. They were scheduled to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding that was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
Gaudreau, known as ‘Johnny Hockey,’ was set to enter his third season on the Blue Jackets
Online tributes have poured in for Gaudreau since his shock death emerged on the news.
Gaudreau, known as ‘Johnny Hockey,’ played 11 NHL seasons and was set to enter his third with the Blue Jackets. He played his first nine with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Gaudreau, at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage.
He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.
