How Johnny Gaudreau’s Absence Reshaped Team USA’s Gold Moment — Jersey Rituals, Family on Ice and the Children Who Stepped Into the Spotlight

Emerson Raymont

Published: February 23, 2026 2:02 PM ET

How Johnny Gaudreau’s Absence Reshaped Team USA’s Gold Moment — Jersey Rituals, Family on Ice and the Children Who Stepped Into the Spotlight

Who felt it first were the people closest to him: teammates, the Gaudreau family and the room that had kept his jersey as a talisman. In Milan, johnny gaudreau’s No. 13 was carried onto the ice and his two young children were brought out during the celebration after the United States beat Canada 2-1 in overtime at Santagiulia Arena, turning a championship moment into a public act of remembrance.

Johnny Gaudreau’s legacy and the immediate emotional impact on teammates and family

Before details of the final were parsed, teammates put the emotion front and center: Matthew Tkachuk, Zach Werenski and Auston Matthews carried the No. 13 jersey onto the ice, and players made sure the Gaudreau family was part of the postgame photo. The family attended the game; Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski held the children on their laps during the team picture while Larkin and Matthew Tkachuk also held Gaudreau’s jersey. Leaders in the locker room spoke about feeling his presence throughout the tournament and played the game with his memory in mind.

How the medal-clinching night unfolded on the ice

The United States defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The Americans won their country’s first men’s hockey gold in 46 years. The game included a dramatic finish in which the U. S. overcame a heavy shot disadvantage; Connor Hellebuyck was described as valiant in goal for the U. S., while Canada squandered several chances, including a wide-open opportunity that Nathan MacKinnon missed in the waning minutes.

Rituals that preceded the Milan tribute and what was visible in the arena

johnny gaudreau’s jersey has been a recurring emblem in U. S. rooms: it hung in the Americans’ locker room at the 4 Nations Face-Off the prior February and again during the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, where the U. S. won gold. In Milan the jersey hung above a banner showing Johnny’s No. 13 and Matthew’s No. 21 from Boston College. After the win, Matthews and others paraded the Team USA jersey around the ice, and Werenski and Larkin located Johnny and Meredith Gaudreau’s children — Noa and Johnny Jr. — to join the celebration on the ice.

What led to the tribute: the deaths, ages and the family present in Milan

The tribute was rooted in a shared loss: Johnny and his brother Matthew died on August 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. The family members who attended in Milan included parents Guy and Jane, and the children — Noa, age 3, and Johnny Jr., who turned 2 on the day of the gold medal game.

Players and spectators saw the medal celebration double as a family moment: children on laps and a team photo intended to include the Gaudreau family.
Tribute rituals had precedent: the jersey’s presence at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2025 IIHF championship connected Milan’s ceremony to a longer string of remembrances.
What could confirm the continuing significance: continued display of the jersey in future U. S. events, repeat family appearances at major tournaments, or formal acknowledgments on upcoming U. S. rosters.
Groups most affected include the Gaudreau family, teammates who kept the jersey close, and the U. S. men’s program that used the memory as motivation.

Here’s the part that matters: players publicly framed the win as something they wanted to dedicate to Johnny and Matthew, and they made that dedication visible to the family and the crowd. Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Larkin, Brock Faber and others expressed how much the brothers were missed and how the moment felt right with the children on the ice. The real test will be how those rituals are carried forward at future competitions.

What’s easy to miss is that the tribute linked several eras of U. S. hockey: Johnny’s international achievements — including leading a tournament with seven goals at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Russia and helping the U. S. to bronze at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark — his NHL résumé, and the locker-room traditions that followed.

Career and comparative notes visible at the arena underscored that legacy: Johnny compiled 743 points (243 goals, 500 assists) in 763 NHL games for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets from 2014–24. From 2014–15 through 2023–24 he ranked second in points among U. S. -born players to Patrick Kane, who had 791 points (293 goals, 498 assists) in 715 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.

Small timeline tying the threads together

2013 — Led tournament with seven goals as the U. S. won gold at the World Junior Championship in Russia.
2018 — Helped the U. S. win bronze at the IIHF World Championship in Denmark.
February (prior year) — Jersey hung in the locker room at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
2025 — Jersey present during the IIHF World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, where the U. S. won gold.
Milan, 2026 — Team USA won Olympic gold 2-1 in OT over Canada; the team carried the No. 13 jersey and brought Johnny’s children onto the ice for the postgame photo.

These elements together made the medal ceremony more than a victory ritual; they turned it into a communal moment of remembrance that tied the family, teammates and national program together in the same frame.