South Jersey's Gaudreau scores in NHL
Like every other NHL team, the Flyers could have drafted Johnny Gaudreau in 2011. He was a local kid with blazing speed and moves that defied logic.
Like every other NHL team, the Flyers could have drafted Johnny Gaudreau in 2011.
He was a local kid with blazing speed and moves that defied logic.
But the Flyers, like every other team not named Calgary, bypassed Gaudreau because of his size.
Five years later, the 5-foot-9, 157-pound Gaudreau, the pride of Gloucester Catholic High School, has taken the NHL by storm. The Calgary left winger has made two all-star teams in his two years in the league. He entered Monday's game against the Flyers leading Calgary in goals (24) and points (62) and was on the verge of signing a multiyear deal.
"Who would have believed someone from South Jersey would put up those kind of numbers in the NHL?" asked Guy Gaudreau, Johnny's father, as he waited outside the Calgary locker room Monday.
Gaudreau, 22, faced the Flyers on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
"It's special. I'll get to see family and friends," Gaudreau said after the morning skate. "Everybody's texting me to see me after the game. There's only so many people I can see, but it's exciting to hear from all these people."
Growing up in Carneys Point, Salem County, Gaudreau was a die-hard Flyers fan. But he said he wasn't upset that the Flyers didn't draft him.
"Honestly, I didn't even think I was going to get drafted," he said, adding he was just happy Calgary took a chance and selected him in the fourth round (104th overall) in 2011.
"He's not one of those kids that [thinks], 'Shame on the Flyers,' " Guy Gaudreau said. "He's not like that at all. When he got drafted in the fourth round by Calgary, it was a surprise to all of us. He was playing hockey with me; I was coaching him at the Hollydell Ice Arena, and one of the guys who works with me, Jim McVey, came running over and said, 'Johnny just got drafted by the Flames.' I said, 'No way.' He said, 'Fourth round.' He loves the Flyers. He cheered for them all his whole life, and he'd love to play for them. But they didn't draft him, so he went to where they wanted him and played hockey. That's what it's all about."
Johnny Gaudreau said Calgary "rolled the dice" by selecting such a small player in the fourth round.
Guy Gaudreau is hockey director at Hollydell in Sewell. He estimated that between 4,000 to 5,000 fans connected to Hollydell and Gloucester Catholic were to attend Monday's game. Johnny and his brother, Matthew, who plays at Boston College, run hockey camps at Hollydell in the summer.
Johnny Gaudreau is negotiating a long-term deal that could be announced this week. "They did tell him it's probably one of the biggest contracts Calgary will ever sign," Guy Gaudreau said. "It's all good. He's worked hard to get here, and he loves the game."
Guy Gaudreau said his son would like to buy his parents "all kinds of stuff. But it's his money, and he's earned it. I'm sure eventually he'll do something for his mother."
"I'm excited to be playing in Calgary, and I'm sure I'll be playing in Calgary for a lot more years to come," said Johnny Gaudreau, who will spend half the offseason in Carneys Point and the other half at Boston College, where he is four credits shy of a degree.
He skates with some of the Flyers at their Voorhees practice facility in the summer. "I'm just happy they want to sign me again," he said of the Flames.
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