LIVE: Boston College holds press conference in wake of Gaudreau death

as you know Olympic player and world class but just as someone to raise the level of your practice that to uh be Johnny hockey but not wear that label uh W respected by all the students here the teachers uh and by Greg and I you know if you ask us the name of our favorite players you know they've got to be both boys are going to be among them you obviously the good hockey players to be here great hockey players but when you speak of them and being with them on on a daily basis what were they like as people what were your favorite things about them as as as people they brought a ton of Joy to the ring they were happy to be there like truly happy to be there big smiles all the time the things they could do on the ice now that's what people who don't know them remember because they were both magical our own ways but uh everyone just love having them on the team they were Trend his teammates they laid up the room when they came in so I don't you know we've had lots of Brothers at BC but when you had those two in the room uh you know it's just everything was amped up and They Carried that that joy that they had for for life and for being teammates onto the and you can see by the way they play we talked about them being very close can you talk about the dynamic between the two of them when they were teammates For That season how they would interact being on the same team yeah uh we had a great team um they would battle each other in practice they would um looked out for each other like brothers do uh yeah the only thing you can say is their their personality and their their enthusiasm was was truly infectious to the whole team they could so he was magical on the ice that year um mat really you know a big time player for us after that year but together was just uh just brought a juice father Tony talks about bring juice to the locker room those two guys brought were together three years here so you know like Greg said Johnny was a magical but Maddie just is compete level and he pushed his brother so much uh that they had a great bond between them but I think part of the reason Johnny was so good not Greg and myself here but the younger brother pushing him hard like that so it was it was fun Dynamic to watch and uh when we first recruit when he first came in I remember Kevin Hayes and we had a lot of really good players above MC Cryder and uh Tommy cross and they look at this little kid walking it looks like he's 14 years old and they' heard so much about him very few had seen him play uh and he wasn't didn't want to be the first one in the room he he was he was never going to be that type of guy he just kind of came in sat down and and I'm sure Kevin was looking over this is the guy that's going to help us win a National Title yeah Kevin he is so uh but he he he really became close especially with I say Kevin Hayes so that was his go-to and actually became a DOT rat spent a lot of weekends with uh Kevin Senior the family and in Dorchester so he even though he's a kind of Philly kid Jersey kid he became quite a Boston uh young guy Jer you tell me he almost didn't become an eagle he was going to be a husky first and then turned out playing for you as a Hobie Baker winner you know you don't get a chance to coach too many of those guys yeah our best recruiter was Greg clonin I think uh and we St Greg and I both stayed in touch with Greg all all these these years but he had left Northeastern prior to uh Johnny and Maddie both coming that that uh fall and so during the summer uh he reached out to you know Greg and Greg helped him I think pick some different schools to visit and uh then he when he visited us and I think Maddie was a I think GRE a driving force I think that we knew you know the both brothers were tight but I think he was one John let's go to BC you know they could have go to Wisconsin bu anywhere they wanted to and so I think Maddie helped direct him I think that's right they were going to go together yeah no matter what so forunate to have room so excited to get him John show up and put us over the edge to win that first that National Title in 2 what do you think his weight was when he came in did you guys if he was 140 M he was 20 pounds lighter than him like the things that they could do for their size we are I mean they both have a genius tool that you don't see often to be as effective not only at the college level with Johnny and the NHL at that size takes such a high IQ level that you can't everyone league is really good and then to be not just play but be a star I remember a few practices who and Mike kav of them was was was on our staff and and Mike could look at Greg and and I'd be looking at both of them as Johnny did something wow what just do there you know as Elusive and as just incredible things he could do in the ice with the park and just look over at Greg or something like we're going to be pretty good this year I think I big crier with him was pretty interesting have either of you had the chance to speak with the family and what did you say or if not what would you like to say to them a chance yet CL they were at our I had a chance Sor it's every parents texted a Jan and guy this morning and just reminded them how specially they were to BC and um it even came Katie uh Craig of course remembers her too she was like a 10-year-old younger sister never missed a game and you know was war the BC gear and everything and for her you know to be getting married the whole thing is uh so hard but we'll have a great contingent coming from here down to the uh wake and the funeral and I'm sure if Tony's available he'll be a father Tony will be a to sit the mask too he going tell a story about the Skittles how he learned to skate I think that' be kind of entertaining we heard it from guy I think that's how young to get around the ice I think he would Chase Skittles he wasn't in love with hockey when he was little but he would chase the Skittles cuz he liked those his diet was never uh that of a world class athlete was johe te have a lot more of those stor yeah it seems like they were the finest you guys have ever coached what did you learn from them as athletes as student athletes here at boson College you guys are so busy coaching and teaching did they teach you guys anything oh absolutely every day uh you know not just hockey skills but how they handle themselves and and fr Tony was always talking about you know you want to be great in the ice but you don't want to act great off the ice and just be a regular you know and they' walk around the campus and you know everybody being a of of course the brother Johnny uh but he was just you know hello and very polite and so he handled Fame extremely well and he did it NHL level too he was always a great teammate and but that's kind of I remember about him just very grounded yeah grounded they had special abilities but they knew that was just their thing and didn't put them in any special light treated every one of their teammates like brother grounded John finished up in Calgary the season he came back he slept on his brother's floor to get some more classes in so he did get his degree I do that that was important to his to his he made sure came back and Fin and that was recent or W okay remember after pretty soon after he okay after he left Craig and I were saying goodbye to Johnny CU he's we were in Philadelphia the final four and uh Calgary had sent a plane to pick him up bring him right to the end of the season play some games for the Flames yeah and uh the mother was with us and she was and she was Jane she was adamant Johnny you're GNA get that degree and she stayed right on him so awesome yeah both boys have the degrees from BC and that's that's important to us yeah it seem like they left an indelible Mark here how do the current players obviously they look him as as Legend he's a legend here on campus how how are the current players handling this did they get a chance to really know him did he come back and visit from time Gregor know that I'm not yeah I spoke with Ryan Leonard he played with him at the world championships this last spring so didn't know him well but he said that Johnny and Kevin they treated him like was over there with a little young they don't know all the pros which was not shocking to us cuz they would bring them right in it's just the way was so we have team meeting yet today to talk about it several of our kids were growing up watching uh John play here and thought it was pretty cool to put on a BC Jersey folks maybe time for a last question mat Matt went on to become was just starting to get into coaching that surprised either one of you that you would you would want to stay in the game not at all their father had a love for the game and a passion for it and around Hockey coaching and everything two boys achieved Great Heights uh so it isn't shocking at all uh hockey is in their blood MD would have been a great she very cerebral that understands really the game within the game thank you for than you for being here appreciate and one question askk sorry for your loss