The Billy Joel song comes to mind about the death of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were mowed down by a reckless drunken driver on Thursday evening. Only the good die young as Johnny is only 31 years of age and brother Matthew Gaudreau is 29 years old. Both brothers played hockey together at Boston College. On the eve of their sister’s wedding, they were riding their bicycles in their home state of New Jersey when an impatient driver went around the car in front of him and then ran the two brothers over. The Gaudreau brothers were going to be groomsmen at their sister’s wedding which is now cancelled because of this tragic event that took place. The brother’s uncle spoke as the Gaudreau family is gut wrenched and still in shock. “Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brother-in-laws, two nephews, 2 cousins, 2 family members, two teammates, two friends, but two truly amazing humans.” These words were spoken by Uncle Jim Gaudreau.

Johnny Gaudreau’s last season, in his second season in Columbus, scored 12 goals while dishing out 48 assists for 60 points. Nicknamed Johnny Hockey or Johnny Ham & Cheese, he has played 11 seasons in the NHL. He was a big part of that Boston College team winning the 2012 NCAA Hockey Championship. He was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 4th round 104th overall of the NHL 2011 draft. He played 9 seasons in Calgary & then in 2022 signed with the Blue Jackets on a seven year deal. Johnny Hockey is a 1x all-star and has played in 763 NHL games. He has scored 243 goals while dishing out 500 assists for 743 NHL points. Not bad for a kid born in Salem, New Jersey playing solid hockey with the big boys from Canada.

Matthew Gaudreau after playing hockey at Boston College never found the ice at the NHL level. He went un-drafted and signed with the New York Islanders organization. Matthew played in the AHL (American Hockey League) and the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League.) He played two seasons with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers who were the Islanders affiliate in the AHL. Matthew would then be part of the inaugural season of the Worchester Railers who played in the ECHL.

In seven seasons in the minor leagues, Matthew scored 36 goals. He finally hung up the skates and took a job at the Gaudreau brothers’ Alma Mater in Jersey in 2022 as the hockey coach. He has had that job at Gloucester Catholic High School since.

The driver of this very unfortunate act is 43 year old Sean Higgins who was driving a Jeep of some kind. He admitted to having 5 to 6 beers before he got behind the wheel. Right now the authorities are charging Higgins with two counts of vehicular homicide in the 2nd degree. On the report he said he grew impatient so he went blazing around the slower vehicle in front of him to then plow into the two brothers on bikes. I really just don’t blame the alcohol on this situation. If he was sober, that Higgins would not get pissed off and go around the slower car or truck. How many times do you see the people driving crazy every day on the highways across the United States cutting people off and not using the turn signal that you think is obsolete. Look at the road rage these days. People will pull out a gun on you if you even beep at them. He should have never gotten into the car after drinking that amount of beer either. This is really sad because now Higgins’ impatience ripped the hearts of the entire Gaudreau family. Making things even more heartbreaking is Matthew’s wife is expecting a baby. Because why? You have to get home a tad earlier? We know this happens every day. This story is being told because Johnny plays in the NHL. You can’t hold that against any celebrities or anybody that gets killed like this from somebody who drives like an A-hole.

The story about this accident has so many sad moving parts. How does the sister of the two brothers go on with the wedding after this sometime in the future? How would you like to be the groom in this situation? From what I have read, it sounds like the Gaudreau family has a strong bond. The wedding should go on because Johnny and Matthew would have wanted their sister to live her life and be happy. You wonder if any of the Gaudreau sons of either Matthew or Johnny will someday play hockey like their fathers. This family should and could come together to be a stronger unit where right now is grim, but the future could be brighter just because of this tragic event taking place on Thursday night. I’m sure many families break apart because of some kind of event that many can’t recover or move on. It sounds like both Johnny and Matthew were two guys that were good people. On and off the ice and family orientated. It’s a real shame this happens in life. Way too young for both guys who had bright futures ahead of them. Stories like this remind us you have to live life to the fullest. Enjoy the people in your life because you never know. My prayers go out to the family. As a hockey fan watching the Chicago Blackhawks, I’ve seen Johnny Hockey and he was a solid player any team would want to have on their top lines. Rest in peace to the Gaudreau brothers, whose lives were cut down way too short.