Johnny Gaudreau
American ice hockey player (1993–2024)
John Michael Gaudreau (August 13, 1993 – August 29, 2024) was an American professional ice hockey player. A left winger, he played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played college ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles in NCAA Division I for three seasons beginning in 2011 and was selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL entry draft. Nicknamed "Johnny Hockey", he was named the 2014 recipient of the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in the NCAA and, during his first full NHL season in 2014–15, was selected to play in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, as well as being named to the annual NHL All-Rookie team. Gaudreau was a Calder Memorial Trophy finalist for the NHL's best rookie and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player for the 2016–17 season. In 2022, Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he spent his last two seasons. Gaudreau was noted as helping to grow opportunities for smaller hockey players; despite measuring in at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), he was a seven-time NHL All-Star and finished fourth in Hart Memorial Trophy voting twice.
Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver while cycling on August 29, 2024, in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
Early life
Gaudreau was born on August 13, 1993, in Salem, New Jersey, to Guy Gaudreau, a former soccer player, college hockey player, and high school coach from Beebe Plain, Vermont, and Jane Gaudreau. He had two sisters and a younger brother, Matthew, who played hockey for the Worcester Railers and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the ECHL and AHL, respectively.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Johnny Gaudreau” as american ice hockey player (1993–2024). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american ice hockey player (1993–2024). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q94064. VIAF identifies the subject as 1939156811368945390006. The Library of Congress control number is no2019126795. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1993, 2024, 2011 and 2014.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Johnny Gaudreau”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Johnny Gaudreau primary sources, Johnny Gaudreau archive and Johnny research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Johnny Gaudreau”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Johnny Gaudreau” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.