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Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield will put on No. 13 this season in honor of late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau.
Caufield, who has worn No. 22 for his 4 seasons with the Canadiens, introduced the change Tuesday on Instagram.
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
Cole Caufield introduced he is altering his jersey quantity to 13 to honor Johnny Gaudreau. ❤️
“I wore #13 at some extent in my profession due to Johnny and now I shall be carrying it once more to honor him. He paved the way in which for smaller gamers and proved we had a future on this sport on the… pic.twitter.com/yqj6CZH5lP
Caufield wrote:
“All of us misplaced an incredible individual, each on and off the ice, in final week’s tragedy. My deepest condolences go to the complete Gaudreau household, particularly Johnny’s spouse and two youngsters, who I had the pleasure of assembly. Nothing will have the ability to fill the void of their households and family members hearts, however I hope it gives some consolation to understand how these two positively impacted the lives of so many. They’ll actually be missed.
Attending to play together with your hero is one thing that most individuals solely dream of. I used to be fortunate sufficient to be Johnny’s teammate this previous summer season and it did not take lengthy to comprehend how nice of an individual he was. He was essentially the most welcoming, real, and funniest man I’ve ever met. He was somebody everybody gravitated in direction of and I took each likelihood I may to be round him. Not solely was he an incredible hockey participant and teammate, however he was right down to earth and actually cared about each individual he encountered.
The previous few years taking part in as #22 have been among the finest years of my life. It actually has been a dream come true and I’ll without end maintain these reminiscences and that quantity near me. I wore #13 at some extent in my profession due to Johnny and now I shall be carrying it once more to honor him. He paved the way in which for smaller gamers and proved we had a future on this sport on the highest stage. I’ll without end be grateful to him for uplifting me and others.
Relaxation in Peace, Johnny hockey.
Gaudreau, who wore No. 13 for eight seasons with the Calgary Flames and two with the Columbus Blue Jackets, died Thursday at age 31.
He was survived by his spouse, Meredith, and their two kids.
Caufield and Gaudreau performed collectively on the US males’s nationwide ice hockey group through the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia.
The 2 had been additionally every Hobey Baker Award winners as the perfect gamers in school hockey, with Gaudreau claiming the trophy with Boston Faculty in 2014 earlier than Caufield earned the glory in 2021 with Wisconsin.
Gaudreau was additionally linked to Caufield via his function in selling undersized forwards as a draft goal for groups.
Listed at 5’6″ and 137 kilos heading into the 2011 NHL draft, Gaudreau didn’t anticipate to listen to his identify referred to as by any NHL group (h/t The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian) earlier than he was chosen within the fourth spherical by the Calgary Flames.
Gaudreau went from being a fringe draft decide to a full-time NHL participant and 20-goal scorer through the 2014-15 season. That was the start of a profession that might lead Gaudreau to file 40 targets and 115 factors for the Flames in 2021-22.
5 years after Gaudreau had established himself within the NHL, Caufield, listed at 5’7″, entered the 2019 draft and was chosen at No. 15 by the Canadiens.
After having No. 22 assigned to him as a rookie, Caufield will now honor Gaudreau’s legacy throughout his fifth NHL season.
Caufield’s jersey change shouldn’t be the one method members of the NHL group are paying tribute to Gaudreau. The Flames and Blue Jackets are each hosting candlelight vigils on Wednesday night in honor of Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau.
