Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau remembered at Pennsylvania funeral

Eleven days after their sudden and tragic deaths, the funeral for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau is underway at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Pa.

Family, friends and other loved ones of Johnny, an NHL star, and Matthew, who also played hockey professionally, started to arrive at the church shortly before the service got underway at noon local time.

John, better known in the sports world as “Johnny Hockey,” and Matthew died in New Jersey on Aug. 29 after they were struck by an SUV while riding their bicycles. Police have said investigators suspect the driver of the vehicle was impaired. The crash took place the night before John, 31, and Matthew, 29, were to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.

Monday’s funeral is expected to include a large number of mourners from the hockey community. Both Gaudreaus spent time playing for Boston College before turning pro.

John would go on to become a household name in the sport, spending years as a fan favourite with the Calgary Flames. John, who was by physical standards very small for a professional hockey player, shrugged off concerns raised by hockey scouts and analysts over whether he would be able to compete against much larger players and put up huge offensive numbers with the Flames. In 2022, he signed a contract to join the Columbus Blue Jackets, saying that he and his family wanted to be closer to relatives in New Jersey.

Matthew also played professional hockey in the ECHL and AHL.

Several children were seen entering the church in Media on Monday wearing hockey jerseys with the No. 13 on them — the same number Johnny wore for most of his NHL career.

Among those in the hockey community who were seen arriving at the funeral were NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and