Johnny Gaudreau Jr. marked his first birthday at the Columbus Blue Jackets game on Saturday, accompanied by his mother Meredith, the widow of the late team star.
The arena MC in Columbus announced to fans, ‘Today is a very special birthday for a special young man,’ as the youngest Gaudreau was displayed on the scoreboard. ‘Little baby Johnny Gaudreau Jr. is turning 1 year old today. There he is. Little Johnny.’
‘Jackets fans, Blackhawks fans, let’s join me in singing ”Happy Birthday” to Johnny. ‘
Both supporters of the home team and the visiting Chicago Blackhawks sang the traditional birthday song to celebrate the occasion, while baby Johnny blushed as he stood on Meredith Gaudreau’s sister Lilly’s lap. Meredith, seated next to Lily and her other child Noa Harper, watched the heartwarming scene unfold.
The elder Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a motorist while biking on the eve of their sister’s wedding back in August. That driver, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, faces up to 20 years in prison after being charged with two counts of second-degree death by auto in the brothers’ deaths.
Johnny Sr’s widow Meredith did her best to make Johnny Jr’s first birthday special, as seen in a series of photos she posted on Instagram. The brown-eyed, brown-haired boy is seen smiling in his mother’s arms, enjoying some cake alongside his sister, and making a few funny faces.
Columbus would go on to win the game, 5-1. Â
Meredith, who is currently pregnant with the couple’s third child, also included some shots of Johnny Sr. holding his only son for the first time.
‘Happy 1st Birthday to our baby boy!’ Meredith wrote online. ‘We love you so much Baby Johnny! Already so strong and so special.’
Meredith also shared her memories of Johnny Sr.’s reaction to the birth.
‘I can’t believe you gave me a boy,’ is all John said over and over again when baby Johnny arrived,’ she wrote on Instagram. ‘I couldn’t stop staring at how happy John was- one of the best moments of my life.
‘Baby Johnny you are Mommy’s rock and Noa’s best friend,’ she continued. ‘All of daddy’s accomplishments don’t compare to the pride and joy he had in being your father.
‘I can’t wait to give you a little sibling soon! Everything for you Baby Johnny. We love you so much.’
Meredith has kept his fans posted on updates about her family, including Thursday night on social media after Team USA fell to Team Canada in the 4 Nations finale. Johnny Sr. would have likely played for the United States in the tournament should he have not been tragically killed last year in New Jersey.
‘So emotional hearing this all around me,’ Meredith wrote online. ‘Kept thinking how I can’t wait to show these videos to our kids one day.’
Gaudreau’s presence was felt multiple times during the tournament, with his No 13 red, white, and blue jersey hanging up in the teams’ locker rooms in Montreal and Boston.
No other player wore No 13 for the Americans in the tournament.
American hockey legend Mike Eruzione also wore Gaudreau’s jersey onto the TD Garden ice before puck drop on Thursday night.
Team Canada defeated the Americans in overtime on Thursday to win the inaugural tournament.
New Jersey police have released dramatic body-cam footage from the nervous moments after the crash on August 29 in New Jersey. Â
‘I’ve been drinking beers,’ Higgins told police before admitting to ‘five or six’ Miller Lites.
Ultimately, he’d claim he hadn’t ‘had one in like two hours.’
Prosecutors have accused Higgins of being legally drunk when his vehicle collided with the Gaudreau brothers as they were cycling along a country road in the Philadelphia suburbs.Â
The father of two registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.087 – slightly above the New Jersey state limit of 0.08. Higgins faces up to 20 years in prison after being charged with two counts of second-degree death by auto.
The father of two registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.087 – slightly above the New Jersey state limit of 0.08. Higgins faces up to 20 years in prison after being charged with two counts of second-degree death by auto.
The fatal crash happened less than three miles from the Gaudreau family home, hours before Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were to serve as groomsmen in their sister Katie’s wedding. The brothers, who played together at Boston College, have since been honored in Calgary and Columbus, where Johnny played professionally.
