Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield has officially unveiled a touching tribute to Johnny Gaudreau and revealed how he plans to honour his childhood hero.
Just under a week ago, Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, was were cycling home from their sister Katie’s wedding rehearsal when they were hit by a drunk driver. The collision claimed both of their lives and the Gaudreau family lost two very important people in their lives. The hockey world has mourned ever since.
For Cole Caufield, the loss of Gaudreau is a significant one, as Gaudreau was Caufield’s idol as he came up through the ranks. Also a diminutive winger, Caufield, like Gaudreau, had to learn how to use his speed and skill to make up for what he lacked in size and body mass.
Today, Caufield announced that he is permanently changing his number in Montreal from #22 to #13, in honour of his fallen hero.
Caufield never had the opportunity to play with Gaudreau, as the NHL hasn’t participated in any best-on-best tournaments during his entire tenure in the NHL. Now, unfortunately, he never will.
The touching tribute from Caufield has created quite the buzz and there’s no doubt that Gaudreau would be honored.