Minnesota fans pay tribute to Johnny Gaudreau in first Columbus Blue Jackets game since his death
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Marie Rustman of Mankato, Minn., is part of a group of Minnesota hockey fans that collectively made hundreds of friendship bracelets to honor the Columbus Blue Jackets' late captain Johnny Gaudreau. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
Minnesota Wild fans paid tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets before the teams played their season openers in St. Paul on Thursday.
What happened: The Wild held a pregame moment of silence for Gaudreau, an NHL fan favorite and one of the top Americans in the sport at the time of his death this summer.
Catch up quick: In August, a driver struck and killed Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural New Jersey road.
- Prosecutors say the driver's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit at the time of the crash. The driver now faces multiple charges.
What they're saying: "Every team is going to do something special for Johnny and Matthew, and we're going to embrace it," Columbus coach Dean Evason told reporters. "We're honoring their lives and what they did, not only as hockey people, but as human beings."
- "It's the hockey community coming together and having a moment for them, for their family," Wild forward Matt Boldy said postgame.
The intrigue: The tributes flowed off the ice, too. A group of Wild fans brought hundreds of homemade "Johnny Hockey" friendship bracelets to the game to hand out to attendees, especially those in Blue Jackets gear.
- "When I saw that we were playing [Columbus] on opening night, I was like, 'We have to do something special,'" Allie Cook told Axios.
- She made 320 bracelets, and mobilized a Wild fan Facebook group whose members brought hundreds more. Cook plans to send the rest to Columbus, including some to Gaudreau's widow.
- "It's our way to say we're here for the Columbus fans," said Mankato's Maria Rustman, who brought three-dozen bracelets and wore a "Forever In Our Hearts" Gaudreau tribute shirt.
Zoom in: Sandusky native Heather Sullivan told Axios her family traveled from Chicago for the Blue Jackets' opener.
- Sullivan said the tragedy has been difficult to explain to her 6-year-old son, Aedan, who put his hockey sticks out on the front porch after Gaudreau's death — a sign of mourning in the hockey community.
- "They were starting their young family," Sullivan said of the Gaudreaus, "and how just horrific it was that it happened, and so unnecessary."
What's next: The Jackets plan their own pregame memorial for the Gaudreaus when the team returns home next Tuesday.
- Opening puck drop is set for 7:13pm — a reference to "Johnny Hockey's" jersey number: 13.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include quotes from game attendees. It has also been corrected to reflect that Johnny Gaudreau was not team captain.