What to know about Matthew Gaudreau, Johnny Gaudreau's brother
The weight of expectation had to feel immense.
Matthew Gaudreau was a star hockey player coming up through top youth levels in Philadelphia but was also the younger brother of a guy nicknamed “Johnny Hockey.”
Less than two years older, Johnny Gaudreau carved out a near-impossible career path for his younger brother to match. That wasn’t his intention, of course, but that’s how high-level sports usually go with siblings. Comparisons are inevitable.
That’s why Johnny, an NHL star and the Blue Jackets’ highest-paid player, drew the most attention after the brothers were killed while biking Thursday in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, when Sean M. Higgins, 43, plowed into them with a Jeep Grand Cherokee while attempting an illegal pass on a two-lane county road.
Higgins, of Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and failed a field sobriety test, according to New Jersey State Police. He also told police that he’d consumed “five or six beers” before causing the collision. The tragedy has brought immeasurable grief to the Gaudreau family and prompted memorials at sporting events and venues across the U.S. and Canada ― where Johnny Gaudreau, 31, spent nine NHL seasons playing in Calgary, Alberta.
He and Matthew, 29, are now being remembered together ... as siblings, sons, friends, teammates, fathers and husbands whose lives were tragically cut short. Much more is known about Johnny, a seven-time NHL all-star. Here’s more about Matthew, whose close relationship with his brother mitigated any pressures attached to following in Johnny Hockey's footsteps.
Matt Gaudreau’s wife, Madeline, is expecting their first child
Matt Gaudreau was only a few months from experiencing the same joy of fatherhood that his brother felt twice in the past two years with daughter, Noa, and infant son, Johnny.
A GoFundMe page to raise financial support for Matt’s wife, Madeline, and unborn child, Tripp, was established after the brothers’ deaths were confirmed. The child is expected to arrive in December, and as of Sunday, more than 6,000 donations totaling more than $435,000 were made for the cause. The goal was $30,000.
“It was always Matty and John,” Madeline Gaudreau posted on Instagram. “I can’t even put into words the bond these two had and right now I don’t have the strength. They were each other’s biggest cheerleaders. Matt looked up to John in so many ways, but the most important was the father he was to Noa and Johnny.”
Matthew Gaudreau played hockey professionally in the AHL, ECHL
Matt Gaudreau didn’t have the kind of mind-boggling offensive numbers that his older brother did, but the fact both even made it to professional hockey is remarkable.
Both were 5 feet 9 with slim builds that didn’t exactly impress scouts. Quickness, soft hands and great vision were their biggest assets, and both had enough of those traits as skilled wingers to play at Boston College ― one of the nation’s premier programs.
Johnny was drafted by the Calgary Flames and became an instant NHL star after college, but Matt wasn’t far off that path.
After logging two years with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League, the top junior circuit in the U.S., he played four years at Boston College and became one of the Eagles' top forwards. After college, Matthew played in five professional seasons for teams in the AHL (Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Stockton Heat) ECHL (Worcester Railers, Reading Royals) and Sweden's HockeyEttan (Tyringe).
His best professional season was in 2019-20 with Reading (ECHL), putting up 11 goals, 29 assists and 40 points in 38 games.
Matthew Gaudreau focused on coaching hockey
After playing just one game with ECHL Worcester in 2021, Matthew Gaudreau shifted into coaching with the junior level Philadelphia Hockey Club. He spent the next season as an assistant with the Philadelphia Rebels of the NAHL, also a junior circuit, before taking the head coaching position at his alma mater, Gloucester Catholic High School, in New Jersey.
Gaudreau planned to spend the upcoming season as an assistant for the West Chester Wolves of the junior level United States Premier Hockey League. The Wolves are in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which was a close enough commute for Gaudreau to still spend time with his growing family in Pedricktown, New Jersey, across the Delaware River.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 things to know about Matthew Gaudreau, Johnny Gaudreau's brother
