Johnny Gaudreau’s Jersey and Children Led onto Ice as Team USA Wins Olympic Gold
Team USA carried johnny gaudreau’s No. 13 jersey onto the ice and brought his two young children onto the ice during the medal celebration after beating Canada 2-1 in overtime at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The tribute followed a tournament in which teammates said Gaudreau’s presence was felt throughout the run to gold.
Santagiulia Arena: OT win over Canada sealed the moment
The Americans defeated Team Canada 2-1 in overtime at Santagiulia Arena in Milan to claim the men’s hockey gold medal. The victory gave the United States its first men’s Olympic hockey crown in 46 years and came despite the Americans being outshot dramatically. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck delivered a valiant performance, while Canada squandered several high-quality chances, including a wide-open opportunity that Nathan MacKinnon missed late in the game.
Johnny Gaudreau's Jersey Hung Above Boston College Banner
After the win, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski carried Gaudreau’s No. 13 jersey onto the ice. The jersey hung in the Team USA locker room at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February and again at the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, where the United States won gold. In Milan the jersey was displayed above a banner showing Johnny’s No. 13 and his brother Matthew’s No. 21 from Boston College.
Family on the ice: Larkin, Werenski and the Gaudreau children
The Gaudreau family attended the game in full. After the victory, the team photo included the brothers’ children: Dylan Larkin held Johnny Jr., and Zach Werenski held the couple’s daughter, Noa. Larkin and Matthew Tkachuk also held Gaudreau’s jersey in the postgame picture. In the hours before the gold-medal game, Werenski and Larkin had decided that, if the U. S. won, they wanted a picture on the ice with the Gaudreau family; when gate restrictions prevented bringing everyone out, they brought the children onto the ice instead. Those children — Noa, identified as 3 years old, and Johnny Jr., who turned 2 on the day of the final — sat on Larkin’s and Werenski’s laps for the team photograph. Werenski called it a special moment and noted seeing the brothers’ parents, Guy and Jane, on the stand was meaningful.
Deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau and the legal aftermath
Johnny and his brother Matthew died on Aug. 29, 2024, the night before they were to attend the wedding of their sister, Katie. They were riding bicycles near their home in Salem County, New Jersey, when they were struck by a car. An alleged drunk driver has been charged with two counts of death by auto. Johnny was 31 and Matthew was 29. That tragedy has been a through-line for the U. S. team’s tributes at multiple events.
Career, legacy and teammates’ reflections
Known widely as “Johnny Hockey, ” Gaudreau had 743 points — 243 goals and 500 assists — in 763 NHL games for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets from 2014-24. From the 2014-15 season through 2023-24 he ranked second in points among U. S. -born players to Patrick Kane, who amassed 791 points (293 goals, 498 assists) in 715 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. Internationally, Gaudreau led the tournament with seven goals when the United States won the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Russia and helped the U. S. win bronze at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark.
Teammates emphasized the emotional weight behind the gestures. Matthews, the U. S. captain, said the team felt Gaudreau “was with us here in spirit the whole tournament. ” Brady Tkachuk said, “We miss him and Matty so dearly, ” and added that Gaudreau would have been on the Olympic roster. Werenski said the tribute “meant everything, ” describing the decision to play and celebrate with Gaudreau’s family as a way to make them proud. Dylan Larkin said, “Johnny and Matty should be here, ” and described the moment with the children on the ice as feeling right for the family-first sentiment. Brock Faber choked up at seeing the scene, noting the lasting impact Gaudreau will have on the team and that his jersey will continue to be hung in the locker room.
What makes this notable is how sustained gestures across events — locker-room displays at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the 2025 World Championship, and the Olympic celebration — translated a private loss into a visible, recurring element of Team USA’s identity on the international stage. The team’s choices to parade the jersey and to put the Gaudreau children at the center of the medal celebration were direct, tangible acts of remembrance tied to the on-ice triumph.
