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Meredith Gaudreau, widow of former Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player, Johnny Gaudreau speaks with ABC News, Feb. 24, 2026. (ABC News)<\/p>\n\t\t\tMeredith Gaudreau, widow of former Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player, Johnny Gaudreau speaks with ABC News, Feb. 24, 2026. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
(NEW YORK) \u2014 Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of professional hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, is speaking out about the emotional moment the U.S. men\u2019s hockey team celebrated her husband and their children at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.<\/p>\n
As soon as\u00a0USA beat Canada 2-1<\/a>\u00a0in the gold medal game on Sunday, the players brought two of Johnny Gaudreau\u2019s kids onto the ice. Three-year-old Noa and Johnny Jr. \u2014 who turned 2 that same day \u2014 posed with their dad\u2019s number 13 jersey as they sat in the arms of the new Olympic champions.<\/p>\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t have to do that,\u201d Meredith Gaudreau told ABC News Live on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just very, very proud, and I\u2019m very thankful to them for including my kids in it, and just honoring my husband the way they do,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the classiest thing. They do all these really kind gestures and include our kids in everything, because I know that\u2019s exactly what John would want.\u201d<\/p>\n Meredith Gaudreau said she told her daughter, \u201cDaddy\u2019s friends want to take a picture with you and Johnny. \u2026 You get to do this because of daddy and they love and they miss him, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was really excited,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 She\u2019s started to put things together and she\u2019s very, very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnny Gaudreau\u2019s parents were also in the crowd to witness the special moment.<\/p>\n Johnny Gaudreau, a 31-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets star known as \u201cJohnny Hockey,\u201d died on Aug. 29, 2024, alongside his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, 29, a former pro hockey player.<\/p>\n The brothers were riding bikes in New Jersey on the eve of their sister\u2019s wedding when they were\u00a0struck by a driver<\/a>\u00a0suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, according to police. The suspected driver was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident. He\u2019s not yet gone to trial.<\/p>\n \u201cStill every day is kind of a gut punch,\u201d Meredith Gaudreau said. \u201cSo when the guys do what they can to still include John and our kids, it just means everything to me. You know, these guys are really good people, really good friends of ours. And I just consider them really great role models.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that it shows \u201chow much they love John and all the respect they have for him. \u2026 I am really proud of John for having that type of impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Meredith Gaudreau said her third baby, Carter \u2014 who was born\u00a0about seven months after his father died \u2014 didn\u2019t travel with them to the Olympics, but watched the game from home.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have a passport yet cause he\u2019s only, almost 11 months old. So I felt so bad, but he watched along and he looks pretty good wearing number 13!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Matthew Gaudreau also left behind a wife, Madeline Gaudreau, who was pregnant at the time of his death. Their son,\u00a0Tripp, was born<\/a>\u00a0four months after the crash.<\/p>\n