A Tribute To Johnny Gaudreau

it's a tough weekend in hockey as the hockey world Mourns the unfortunate and tragic death of both Johnny gdo and Matthew GD and I'll also talk about Johnny's connection with a couple of ducks players on this edition of locked on Anaheim Ducks you're locked on Ducks your daily podcast on the Anaheim Ducks part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music] welcome to locked on Anaheim Ducks part of the locked on podcast Network I'm your host Jason Hernandez I've been covering hockey for well over a decade and this episode is brought to you by the game time app download Game Time create an account and use code locked on NHL for 20 bucks off your first ticket purchase what time is it game time all right now that we've gotten that out of the way um before we get started I just want to point out I did actually have a plan for this next episode so I'm actually going to shove it to next week and just tell you what I was going to talk about I was going to talk about the TV deal that the Ducks just signed yeah there's a lot to this but we're pushing that all aside because I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about this this is easily the biggest story in hockey right now and unfortunately this is one of the more tragic IC stories in hockey in recent memory as far as I'm concerned this is tough um I know this is a Ducks podcast but this gravit I mean this reaches Beyond just one team this is League wide this is sports wide when you have athletes from different sports commenting on this you know it's very tragic um in case you haven't heard Johnny gdo and his brother Matthew goodro they were killed by a suspected drunk driver while they were Pedic cycling in oldman's Township New Jersey uh Johnny Gad was 31 years old he just celebrated his 31st birthday this month and Matthew Gad was only 29 years old both from Salem New Jersey this this one's tough and I I will peel back the curtain just a lot on this one when I recorded the previous episode um there was a little bit in my in the back of my mind because at the time I was recording that it was a Thursday and the News had just popped up that there was a possibility and I'm like I don't want to I don't want to read into this too much hoping that it was not true and then we got the confirmation um so I actually went to sleep and as soon as my phone started buzzing multiple times I knew I didn't even look at my phone I knew what had happened and as soon as I read it yeah um Matt Johnny both passing away this this is tough when I read that it was because of a possible drunk driver I was I was pretty Furious about this one um I'll have thoughts about that towards the end but just to go over some of the details so Johnny cadro was in town it is Hometown to celebrate his sister getting married in fact that wedding was supposed to take place on Friday it did not take place in fact the wedding was cancelled um don't know what's going to happen for there but that's personal business um it it's really really sad folks so they were struck by a vcle while riding their bikes in New Jersey and it was a driver of a Jeep Cherokee that hit two and they called it pedal cyclists and This SUV was trying to like move over past an SUV and then moved over again to try to like get past traffic so driving a little aggressively and the police got there at about 8:00 local time 5:00 Pacific and the News began to trickle in Thursday evening so but there was no confirmation yet and unfortunately both gadell brothers were pronounced dead at the scene just a just a little ways from Philadelphia and really close to their home I mean within maybe a mile from their home they had just gotten done with the wedding rehearsal and they were all set to be groomsmen in their sister's wedding on the Friday the accident took place on Thursday the wedding was supposed to take place on Friday now um the driver did stick around at least it wasn't a hit and run so there's that um the driver was identified as Sean Higgins 43 who is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol he's been charged with two counts of death by Auto reckless driving possession with an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle um he told police he had five or six beers before the crash investigation is still ongoing but it was his impatience and reckless driving that did it so he is now under custody and will be undergoing trial um with those kind of charges it's this is going to be a steep steep penalty folks this is going to be very steep um once again this happened in Oldman oldman's Township in New Jersey so yeah this this is just very unfortunate very unfortunate indeed um I'm G to try to get through a whole episode of this because this is just very tough news it's it's tragic it's a needless tragedy that didn't have to happen but here we are um I got some quotes to read here which I'm actually going to get to right now um this quote I'm actually going to start with a quote from the Columbus Blue Jackets they posted this on their Twitter um so this was their statement on the passing of Johnny GD and his brother Matthew gdo quote the Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy Johna was not only a great hockey player but more significantly a loving husband father son brother and friend we extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife Meredith his children Noah and Johnny his parents their family and friends on this sudden loss of Johnny and Matthew Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice he brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played from Boston College to the Calgary Flames to Team USA to the Blue Jackets he thrilled fans in a way only Johnny could or only Johnny hockey could the impact he had on our imagination or wow I'm trying to get through this folks the impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him Johnny embraced our community when he arrived two years ago and Columbus welcomed him with Open Arms we will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy at this time we ask for prayers for the G family and that their privacy be respected at this time I can read folks and this this is hard to read and hard to get through but this isn't easy this is definitely not easy um the Calgary Flame they of course had thoughts on this one um they just simply put this it's with great sadness we mourn the tragic deaths of our friend Johnny GD and his brother Matthew GD our hearts are broken by this devastating loss Johnny was and always will be a member of the Flames family and loved by all of Calgary end quote and that comes directly from actually there's more but this is from the Flames it was our privilege to called Johnny our teammate for nine amazing years in Calgary he came to Calgary as a young man and grew up here not only as a superstar on the ice but also a beloved member of our community the pain we feel for Johnny's wife Meredith children Noah and Johnny parents Jane and Guy sisters Kristen and Katie and the entire Gill family is immense ownership management players and staff of the Flames express our heartfelt sympathies during their time of Sorrow you are in our thoughts and prayer years and speaking of the Flames several fans have come out to the Saddle Dome in remembrance of Johnny goodro they've been leaving flowers they've been leaving pictures they've been leaving stories um several players have weighed in on this uh several players from far and wide and including one one of my favorite old school players even though I was like barely like a we loud when I saw him play Lanny McDonald I was in the Dome the night he scored in overtime to send the Flames to the second round of the playoffs in 2022 I swear the foundation of that old building was shaking the eruption from the crowd was so violently joyous it was the outpour of Love awe and gratitude for our fiery hero watching the passion and fervor Johnny hockey played with felt al electric there are no words that can match the tragedy of what has happened waking up to the news of Johnny and Matthew's pass in hit my family like a ton of bricks not only for their senseless deaths but their gripping heartbreak for their loved ones who face the unimaginable let the hockey world rally around the gdr their families and friends and I'm actually going to stop it right here um I agree Lanny let's have the whole Hockey World get behind the Gad family because they are just mourning with such immense pain um couple of former teammates wait in nazim Kadri he said always will have Johnny and his family in my heart in prayers situations like these really put life in perspective they really do oh this this one's just so so tough to do a story on um I'm actually going to head to break before heading to break I'm going to read the family statement on the tragic passing and this comes directly from Jim G quote last night we lost two husbands two fathers two sons Two Brothers two sons and brothers-in-law two nephews two cousins two family members two teammates two friends but truly two amazing humans we want to let everyone know we are receiving your messages of love and support and we appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers we ask for your continued respect and privacy during this very difficult period of grief from all our families and the bottom of our hearts the Gad Morris corbetts vanillo and Joyce families and that comes directly from Jim gdo who is just having a tough time with this right now we're going to head to the first I mean I I know it seems kind of go to do a commercial break here but um after the first intermission we're going to press on and and talk a little bit more about Johnny GD and also his connection with some ducks players yes there's some pretty pretty solid connections here stay locked in and now a brief word from the game time app and folks um if you've used the game time app before maybe you were fortunate enough to watch Johnny Gad and the Flames or Johnny G and the Columbus Blue Jackets with some awesome tickets from game time they've got last tickets uh very low prices by the way and they have like their Zone deals their Flash Deals you could see hockey games for about 20 bucks at the pond that's a pretty solid deal folks and if you use code locked on NHL you'll get 20 bucks off your first purchase at game time so what are you waiting for download the game time app right now watch hockey greatness and use code locked on NHL once again for $20 off your first purchase hey what time is it game time welcome back to locked on Anaheim Ducks part of the locked on podcast Network once again you're locked in with Jason Hernandez as we continue to mourn the tragic deaths of Johnny GD and Matthew gdo and um I just gave some statements from different teams different players but I want to talk about the Anaheim connection for a little bit not just Anaheim Ducks but the Anaheim Angels I still call them that and I'm going to start with the angels connection because uh there is a Native Son of New Jersey that had some thoughts on this as well and this comes directly from Michael Nelson trout um trouty obviously one of the biggest stars in baseball from milville New Jersey and uh Mike Trout had this to say quote devastated by the loss of Johnny and Matthew Gad sending my deepest condolences and love to their family um when you have baseball players start to acknowledge and mourn the death I mean very classy by mik to say that both local New Jersey guys and just just very sad very tragic um but I also want to talk about other Anaheim connections there because there's there's a few of them and I would call them funny cute stories but I guess they're fun stories too we'll we'll go with that they're they're great stories and I'm gonna start with Trevor zis um zis did post a photo on his Instagram and it was a very cute photo it was a young Trevor zis posing with or holding a used Johnny gdo stick and Trevor looks like he's about maybe 11 12 here I mean this could have taken place probably n 10 years ago when Maddie was in his early years with the Calgary Flames but you know Z right there holding up a stick of Johnny Gad um they're both from the Northeast um I know Trevor zis has talked about Johnny Gad in the past um loved watching each other play so there's that little cool connection between Trevor zis and Johnny Gad but I think the best connection here the best connection between the Ducks and Johnny GD is none other than John Gibson and as you can see here I have the all-star jersey which I'll talk about the allstar game in a second and the Blue Jackets Jersey but I'm wearing the Team USA Hockey shirt and by the way shout out violent gentleman for this one um love it so Johnny Gad was on Team USA for the world juniors back in 2012 2013 and there that was a stacked team and by the way that was a team that won that 2013 World Juniors um yeah that that was a fun one to watch that was one of those that I remember watching because John Gibson had just been drafted by the Ducks and he was going to be like the star golender in the world junior so of course I'm going to watch it and you know because I me USA USA yeah I was pretty pumped for this one and they they were just a stacked team when you have guys like this on your actually let me read some of the roster on this because this is pretty stacked so you have Johnny gdo you have John Gibson as your top goalie on the team and then you also have John Gillies who was the Flames net minder you have Seth Jones it's a good one you have Roco Grimaldi who we love here Vinnie troch Ryan Hartman Alex Galchenyuk JT Miller Sean carali Jacob trouba Mike Riley how about the ghost Shane goth spere and third backup Garrett Sparks the goal tending itself was amazing on this team and you also oh johy Jimmy sorry Jimmy VC was on this team as well so that's a pretty solid lineup and they beat a stacked Canadian team featuring Nathan McKinnon Philipe Deno Brett Richie Mark shley Ryan stro yeah Jonathan hubero Ryan Nan Hopkins douge Hamilton Morgan Riley you see where I'm going with this there were some pretty stacked teams on that world's Junior roster and they won the gold they won the whole freaking thing and part of the reason was Johnny gdo who was amazing in that tournament in the world's Juniors he was amazing nine points seven goals two assists let me repeat that he had seven goals for Team USA at the world juniors he was part of the world juniors Allstar team back in 2013 so he was he was was putting on a show all throughout folks um one of the scoring leaders um led the world juniors in goal scoring in 2013 topping everyone else that I just mentioned on that list topping everybody else and there are some superstars on that list and then there's John Gibson who was the leading goenda gdo to Heap so so many Praises on John Gibson through the years and I just love that John Gibson and Johnny G like they love each other they still apparently like talked during the off season which was really cool and here's what Johnny GD said um this was a few years ago quote this is what this is from Johnny at World Juniors he pretty much stole us a tournament when we were playing Canada he made some huge saves in the semi-finals they only ended up scoring one one goal but it could have easily been three or four he saved us that game I think he stole us that tournament end quote wow those are massive words from Johnny gadr about John Gibson yeah that that's pretty awesome as far as the other way John Gibson also had some great great words for about Johnny gdo quote he's one of the most dynamic players in the league you know he's always trying to score you know he's always going to be around the net making plays so you always have to keep an eye on him and quote so yeah gibby gibby knows what's up he knows a great player when he sees it um and later on a different quote um this is what Johnny GD said he's a great goal tender he's a great teammate too you can see he's playing well for his team yeah just love it um as far as how to stop or how to get past John Gibson and this particular quote was during the 2017 uh playoffs when they played each other flames and Ducks H here's what Johnny said quote I think just get in front of him try to find some greasy goals and try to find the net early maybe Shake him up a little bit that's how to get to him but from when I played with him he's a cool collected goalie it's tough to find the net on him end quote Oh man so just some great words from both guys about each other um when you have two great players on a gold medal winning team give those kind of praises to each other and in some cases giving praise to each other during the middle of a playoff battle between the Ducks and the flames you know you're that good and you know that those Quotes come with nothing but the utmost respect from both of those guys I if you remember that series that was few years ago where the Flames played the Ducks and that that was a I mean there was a couple of pretty memorable games on that one um one memorable game in particular and I want to talk about this one before heading to our second intermission and this is the 2015 Western Conference second round so the Western Conference semi-finals um the Ducks had just who did the Ducks beat that year um oh that's right that was the Canada sweep so they swept Winnipeg and then they played Calgary in the following round um this was the team that probably should have won the Stanley Cup in 2015 they should have that's a different story for a different day Calgary in 2015 they had just beaten the Vancouver Canucks so they already had their Canada matchup and now they were ready to take on the Anaheim Ducks and game three game three is one for the ages just for the hockey Gods shining brightly on the Flames that day shining brightly on Johnny G and the reason I say that is because that's one that probably shouldn't have happen the way it did but it kind of did what do I mean well this is game three at Calgary and this is about 6 minutes left in the third period ducks have the lead at the time 3 to2 and apparently there was a non- goal called that probably should have been a goal Sam Ben it was trying to get the puck right past Freddy Anderson and Freddy Anderson's pad was behind the goal line and on review it appeared appeared as though the puck had crossed the line but the referee came to Center ice and said after video review it's inconclusive that the puck completely crossed the Nets that call was unbelievable the crowd was mad the coaches were mad everybody in the Saddle Dome was extremely upset that they just got robbed of this one and I look at that replay I see that pop up on my feed time and time again with Calgary getting screwed on that call and maybe they did but if Sam Bennett hadn't have scored that goal to tie the game then we wouldn't have had the heroics and really the first big moment for Johnny and Johnny GD at the time he was just a young kid I mean he was barely in the league he was only 21 years old at the time and he had his big moment he had his big moment with 20 seconds left in regulation on the power play Johnny gdo got it just past Freddy Anderson to tie the game at three goals a piece sending the crowd into to just a nuts frenzy sending that game into overtime that moment against the Ducks is where the legend of Johnny hockey really took place and yes it came at the expense of the Ducks but you know what that was a memorable moment folks that was a truly memorable moment and that was the first time that they really faced I mean quality teams I that that was a good series folks could it have been a sweep yes but the flame the Flames were a good team it took overtime in game five to even eliminate the Calgary Flames in that series and it took overtime for Calgary to win that game in overtime and I I believe if I remember correctly that one I think was on a delayed penalty and I think it was backin that scored the game-winning goal but Johnny GD was on the ice when the Flames scored that game-winning goal in overtime against the Ducks so just a truly memorable moment the first of many from Johnny GD and that's the connection with Anaheim some pretty neat connections there all right second intermission time I'll have some final thoughts some more memorable moments and some final thoughts on this whole tragedy after the second intermission stay locked in welcome back to episode number 9919 of locked on Anaheim Ducks part of the locked on podcast Network all right some final thoughts on this entire tragedy um we can only look back with just great regard and great memory I gave some great memories right there um some touching words between John Gibson and Johnny G who had so much respect for each other so I thought that was cool um that goal in 2015 was one of Johnny gad's biggest playoff moments but his biggest playoff moment came in game seven of the 2022 playoffs between the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars still one of my favorite games to watch that didn't involve anyone that I was truly following and this had taken place right after the kings were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers on one side and then you had the flames and the Stars battling it out and this was when the stars were a wild card team that's why they played the flames in that series and it went to seven games it went the distance and the shots on goal were like 60 something to 20 something in favor of Calgary uh shot attempts were like 12 something it was it was late late in the game and then Johnny gdo came to the rescue put away a rebound that was kind of a Sharp angle and he put the puck just past Jake tinger to send the Saddle Dome into a ver frenzy and that's the game winning goal that's the series winning goal and Johnny gdo joined the short list of Joel Auto remember him and Marty Jelena yeah to have game or series winning overtime goals in a seven yeah how how about those names uh Jelena of course had multiple series winning goals in overtime for the Flames but Johnny gdo Johnny gad's goal I mean that's probably one of the most important goals one of the most important goals in Flames franchise history and we're going back as I mentioned a couple names there uh Lanny McDonald had some big moments some big goals for the Flames as well but that Johnny gdo goal that one that one put him into legendary status amongst Flames fans that's just one of the best games that I've ever seen on television um just a terrific terrific moment and unfortunately his last big moment as a member of the Calgary Flames um I do want to end with just some funny stories that I've heard and I'm going to shout out my colleague uh Jess baso who is the host of locked on Calgary Flames and Jas basto one of my favorite people out there um she put this tweet out there and I couldn't help but smile where she said one of my favorite G stories is how he tried to deposit his first game check in an ATM and Kevin Hayes was like no bud that's not how it works okay that's hilarious first off I mean the I don't want to say innocence but I mean I don't want to laugh at this but it's hilarious because I could just like picture it in my mind where Johnny gdo has his first NHL check this big money check and he tries to put in the ATM and there's Kevin Hy saying no not BD like okay first off yeah that wouldn't work don't do it if you have that big of a check you actually go inside I mean yeah how do we know it wouldn't work of course it wouldn't work of course it wouldn't come on oh man so just hearing some stories like that um another one is where um Hayes went to a sushi place in Massachusetts and Johnny Gad who was known as a picky eater by the way yes um this is pretty well known uh Matt Maddie kachu would often take pictures of Johnny GD and there's a couple of pictures that Matthew kachuck took of Johny gdo eating and eating some junk food because he kind of had the pallet of a 10-year-old sometimes so they went to a sushi place um Johnny wouldn't eat any of it and then he went across the street to get a ham and cheese sub sandwich and brought it back to the sushi restaurant oh first off oh Johnny how could you not love sushi how how could you have not loved it it's delicious just great stories like that um are what made Johnny hockey beloved not just amongst Flames fans and not just amongst Blue Jackets fans but amongst fans of the league uh my buddy Paul and I uh we were fortunate enough to have like a down front and center seat at the 2017 NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles uh that's what that Jersey is by the way the NHL allstar game in 2017 and Johnny had just filthy mths on that All-Star Game trying to help out the Pacific Division as much as possible and my buddy Paul put on his Instagram a video of him and I cheering for Johnny hockey we actually said like Johnny hockey so yeah we I've loved watching him for a long time and one of my favorite players in the league in general just seeing the tenacity that he played with seeing the heart that he played with all those intangibles made Johnny hockey legendary across the entire National Hockey League yeah obviously um his time with Team USA not just on World Juniors but the World Championships um winning a medal with Team USA and world championships as well so he's got a lot under his belt he um it was bronze medal it was a bronze medal at the World Championships back back in 2018 so that was a while ago um I do want to end on this note this might come across as a PSA but I feel like this has to be said the way he died did not have to happen it really didn't drunk driving should not be taking place so folks um if you're out having a couple of drinks please call A cab call a taxi call an Uber call a lift um just please please do not drink and drive um I've lost people in my life due to drunk driving in the past and that's something that I will always say don't drink and drive do not if you've been out having a couple of drinks hang around the bar wait it out for an hour or two hang out with your friends sober up drink water but make sure if if you absolutely have to drive like please make sure you're at least sober up but really don't do it just don't drink and drive um have a designated driver if you have to and finally um he's going to be missed he's going to be deeply deeply missed across the hockey world but it's really the personal side that uh hits the most with me on this one his sister Katie Friday was supposed to be one of the biggest days of her life and one of the biggest moments of her life and it turned into one of the worst days of her life and the wedding didn't even happen and I don't blame her for that I mean that whole family right now was just absolutely gutted and absolutely devastated by all of this um Johnny GD leaves behind a wife and two kids but two young kids under the age of two and I'm going to try to get through this that's what gets to me the most they're young kids under two years old one of them not even a year old just born in February I can't imagine having to go through life having to go through childhood without a dad and it's gonna be really tough for those kids and tough for that family um that family is gonna stick stick together and as for Matthew G and I kind of feel bad that like it's an afterthought but Matthew G um was just starting coaching and he leaves behind a wife and an unborn child yeah Matthew Gill's wife is pregnant right now with their kid he was going to be a dad and now that kid is unfortunately not going to grow up with with the dad it's it's devastating I feel for the entire gajo family um the gajo brothers are going to be deeply deeply deeply missed in the hockey world so if you have a hockey stick you have a few hockey sticks um sticks out for the Gill family and we send our thoughts prayers well- wishes to the entire good family and hope they can get through this just hope they can get through this that being said I'm just going to close it out once again thank you for listening thanks for watching this one ran a bit long but once again rest in peace Johnny Gad and Matthew Gad um they will sely they'll be sorely missed and yeah it it's just sad sad news in the hockey world Maddie 29 Johnny hockey 31 thanks for watching thanks for listening and you know this is your um host Jason H is saying please try to have a great weekend um please please be safe out there absolutely be safe out there do not drive drunk uh please please be kind to one another especially during these times please be kind to one another and Doc fly together and Heaven just got a couple of Angels in the G brothers so long everyone