The Team USA men’s hockey team felt Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s spirits when they took home the gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“Johnny and Matty should be here and that is still the biggest loss that all of us at USA hockey, their families [and] our family, has gone through,” Dylan Larkin told reporters after the Sunday, February 22, gold medal game. “Johnny [is] family first.”
Team USA beat Team Canada 2-1 in a sudden-death overtime win on Sunday, the American squad’s first gold medal victory since 1980’s famed “Miracle on Ice.”
“I think part of the puck not going in our net was somehow, that he’s standing there doing something,” Larkin, 29, said, adding that he pictures Johnny and Matthew laughing as they “just somehow they put a spell around [the Team USA] net where that puck didn’t go in.”
Johnny and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while biking in New Jersey in August 2024, just days before their sister Katie Gaudreau’s wedding. The brothers were 31 and 29, respectively.
The siblings are survived by their parents, two sisters and respective wives and children. Matthew was married to Madeline Gaudreau, with whom he shared son Tripp. Johnny, for his part, is survived by his wife, Meredith Gaudreau, and their three children.
Meredith attended the gold medal game with her kids and in-laws.
“You should be here, John, and I’m so sorry you aren’t,” Johnny’s widow wrote via her Instagram Stories on Friday, February 20. “So proud of you and your legacy.”
As Team USA celebrated their victory, they held up an Olympics jersey with Johnny’s last name and invited his kids Noa, 3, and Johnny Jr., 2, onto the ice to celebrate with the team. (Johnny and Meredith also shared son Carter, who was born in April 2025.)
Larkin, for his part, told reporters that “just felt right” to invite Johnny’s kids onto the ice.
The Olympic victory also coincided with Johnny Jr.’s birthday.
“2-22 is baby Johnny’s birthday!! Special date picked by his daddy due to travel at the time,” Meredith wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 21. “Happy 2nd birthday to our baby Johnny boy! We love you so much. I am so proud of you. Couldn’t think of a better way to spend your 2nd birthday than for a fun day tomorrow.”
Johnny’s mom, Jane Gaudreau, subsequently responded in the comments section.
“Happy Birthday Baby Johnny! Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop love you so much and we can’t wait to spend the day with you,” Jane wrote. “Love you to the moon and back!”
Johnny was a forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets and had ambitions to represent Team USA at the Olympics ahead of his death.
“He was determined to earn his spot on that Olympic roster,” the Gaudreau family wrote in a social media statement earlier this month. “While it breaks our hearts that John won’t be there to live out that dream, we know he will be so very present with Team USA and all of his close friends competing throughout these games. Though the Olympics will be bittersweet for our family, we find comfort knowing that in the hearts of his teammates, friends, and everyone who loved watching him play, John will be right there.”
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