Werenski Honors Johnny Gaudreau at Milano Cortina, Wears Gaudreau Foundation Sweatshirt to Olympics
Zach Werenski made a quiet but unmistakable statement upon arriving in Milan for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, stepping off the plane in a hoodie that paid tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau. The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman, competing for Team USA, chose apparel from the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation to represent both friendship and a wider mission in the sport.
A teammate's visible tribute
Werenski and Johnny Gaudreau spent two seasons as teammates and developed a close friendship that carried beyond club play to international competition. The choice to wear the foundation sweatshirt at the Games underscores a personal bond between the two men and highlights the way players carry one another's legacies into major events.
The foundation, created in memory of Johnny and his brother Matthew, is run by their wives, Meredith and Madeline. It funds youth hockey initiatives, lends support to hockey families who have faced tragedy and aids other families impacted by drunk driving. The sweatshirt served as both a nod to that work and a public symbol of the losses that still loom over the hockey community.
Olympic locker-room tribute and a lasting legacy
Inside the Team USA locker room players also found a more intimate homage: Gaudreau’s No. 13 hanging as a tribute. The display gave teammates a focal point for remembrance as the tournament unfolds, and moments like that have prompted emotional reactions across the roster and among fans.
Johnny Gaudreau was a fixture for the U. S. on the international stage, appearing at the IIHF World Championships in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2024. He tallied 43 points in 40 games for the national team, the most in USA men's IIHF history, and won gold at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. He and Werenski were teammates on the U. S. squads for the 2019 and 2024 IIHF tournaments, ties that connect the Olympic roster to a shared competitive past.
Tragedy and continued purpose
The Gaudreau family suffered a devastating loss in August 2024 when Johnny and Matthew were killed after being struck by an alleged drunk driver. The driver has been charged with two counts of death by auto. In the wake of that tragedy, the foundation bearing their names became a channel for grief and action — a way to funnel remembrance into tangible support for young players and families grappling with hardship.
Werenski’s choice to wear the foundation gear at an event as prominent as the Olympics serves multiple purposes: it honors a friend, amplifies the foundation’s mission on a global stage and reminds teammates and fans that the fabric of the sport includes both competition and community responsibility. As Team USA competes in Milan, the presence of Gaudreau’s number in the locker room and the sweatshirt on Werenski combine to keep a cherished player’s memory woven into the tournament.
The convergence of personal tribute and public visibility highlights the ways athletes carry loss with them into competition, transforming grief into advocacy and remembrance. For Team USA, the gesture is a quiet reaffirmation that the sport's bonds endure, even in the face of profound heartbreak.
