Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew have been killed by a automobile whereas biking in Oldmans Township, New Jersey on Thursday night time, in line with New Jersey State Police. Johnny was 31, and Matthew was 29.
The brothers, initially from New Jersey, have been within the space for his or her sister Katie’s wedding ceremony, which was scheduled for Friday. Round 8:00 p.m., police say, the driving force of a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit them from behind whereas making an attempt to go an SUV that had made room for the bikers. The motive force has been charged with two counts of demise by auto, and police suspect that the driving force had been consuming.
Each Gaudreaus performed hockey at Boston Faculty, the place Johnny gained the Hobey Baker Award because the NCAA’s finest participant in 2014. Although he was generally underestimated due to his dimension, Johnny adjusted seamlessly to the NHL as a member of the Flames. His skating and his creativity with the puck made him synonymous with the “Johnny Hockey” nickname and helped him notch 609 factors throughout eight years in Calgary. Even for a impartial fan, he moved across the offensive zone with an assured ease that made his type naturally likeable.
In the summertime of 2022, whereas he and his spouse Meredith have been anticipating their first little one, he made the sudden transfer to quiet down in Columbus. The Blue Jackets completed in final in every of his ultimate two seasons, however Johnny’s unabashed love for that oft-overlooked NHL metropolis might be an enormous a part of his legacy.
In line with information from the U.S. Division of Transportation, 1,084 bicyclists have been killed in crashes with motor automobiles in 2022. That is the very best quantity ever recorded and a 75 p.c enhance from 2010.