Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 8/30/24

Episode Date: August 30, 2024

Mike and Jason talk about Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were fatally struck by a vehicle Thursday night while in New Jersey. They reflect on his career and impact in the NHL with Derek Wills.This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch.   The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Good morning, Vancouver. Six o'clock on a Friday. You are listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. If you're already wondering why the show sounds different than normal, it's going to be a different show than normal. News overnight that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau was killed Thursday night when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle in his home state of New Jersey.

Also passing was Johnny Gaudreau's brother, Matthew Gaudreau. That happened late last night. We got confirmation early this morning. I am Mike Halford. He is Jason Brough. This is the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I'll say good morning to you now, Jason. And obviously not a good morning, but a difficult time.

It will be a difficult show. We're going to do our best to navigate this as best as we can as broadcasters. But again, if you're just tuning in, the major storyline throughout this morning's show for the next three hours that will be on the air on Sportsnet 650 is that Johnny Goudreau tragically killed last night while riding a bicycle hit by a car in his home state of New Jersey. Yeah, so we've been working pretty hard behind the scenes this morning, just trying to get some guests lined up to talk about Johnny Goudreau. I don't know how much there is to say about it other than it being tragic. And Aaron Portsline is going to join us at 7.30. We've canceled a few of our other guests that we had planned, but it's just because we didn't feel right.

We didn't feel right about talking about, you know, we were going to talk to Sean Keeler about Deion Sanders in Colorado. I don't think my heart would be in that. My heart's not really going to be in talking to any guests about the NFL. We're still going to talk to Moj because we will do some sports talk beyond this once we

talk about this a little bit more. But it's not going to be the usual hijinks that we've come to expect on a Friday. It would be disrespectful, and I think we just don't want to. Yeah. So we'll talk to Moj still, because the Lions do have a big football game tomorrow in Victoria.

It's going to be hopefully a fun event for everyone that goes there. We're just not feeling in the fun mood right now, though. So we will start with all the news that we have available to us. Again, this is a developing story because the incident happened at 8.30 Eastern on Thursday evening, and then confirmation of Johnny Matthew Goudreau's passing occurred very early this morning Pacific time. New Jersey State Police said that Goudreau was one of two cyclists struck and killed by a car in Salem County, New Jersey.

Salem County, New Jersey is where Johnny Goudreau was born, and reports indicate that he was actually back in town along with his entire family for his sister's wedding, which was supposed to occur this weekend. Gaudreau's younger brother, Matthew, who's 29 years old, as mentioned, was the other victim in the crash. As for the actual news, courtesy of the New Jersey State Police, the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road

when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind both brothers were pronounced dead at the scene police said the driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and was charged with two counts of death by auto and jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility so here's how the news is uh delivered to folks early on Friday morning in Philadelphia. Now, Goudreau grew up in South Jersey, and the closest big city to South Jersey is not Newark. It's actually Philadelphia. And here's, I think this is from ABC6 in Philadelphia.

Good Friday morning. We are following breaking news right now. We have just confirmed that NHL star Johnny Goudreau and his brother Matthew were killed in a bicycle crash in Salem County that we've been telling you about all morning long. New Jersey State Police say 43-year-old Sean Higgins of Woodstown was under the influence when he hit the brothers with his SUV along County Route 551 in Oldsman Township last night. Goudreau was a local star before he made it big, graduating from Gloucester Catholic High School. And the tributes from the hockey world are pouring in this morning.

We're going to have continuing coverage. Again, the death of Johnny Goudreau, Johnny Hockey, father, son, and husband. As mentioned there, Johnny Goudreau, 31 years old. Johnny and his wife, Meredith, gave birth to a daughter in October of 2022, and then most recently gave birth to their first son, also named Johnny. I'll read the statement from the Columbus Blue Jackets, who sent this along to give you an idea of the immediacy and how developing the story is an hour ago on their social media platforms.

It's a lengthy one, but I'll read it in full. The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Meredith, his children, Noah and Johnny, his parents, their family and friends on the sudden loss of Johnny and Matthew. Johnny played the game with great joy, which was

felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played, from Boston College, to the Calgary Flames, to to Team USA to the Blue Jackets. He thrilled fans in a way only Johnny Hockey could. The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him. Johnny embraced our community when he arrived two years ago, and Columbus welcomed him with open arms. We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy. At this time, we ask for prayers for the Goudreau family

and that their privacy be respected as they grieve. And that was the statement released about an hour ago from the Columbus Blue Jackets on the passing of Johnny Goudreau. Nick on the drive texts in to the Dunbar-umber text line at 650-650 and we do want to hear your thoughts on this story. Nick texts in, what an unreal story, so tragic. Can't imagine what their family is all going

through right now. Both brothers passing before their sister's wedding. Young families, I'm gutted for them. I cannot imagine. Tragedies happen every day. And we do not talk about each one of them like we would in this case. But I think that's almost like to protect ourselves.

We can't possibly do it. The world is too big. But when this sort of thing happens and a well-known public figure, especially when we're talking about a hockey show, we're all sports fans here. When something like this happens, we feel a lot of feelings. We feel sadness. Like Nick on the drive texts in,

he can't imagine what the family is going through. All the lives that are changed. All the lives that are changed, all the lives that you just, you can't, a young family, his wife, two young kids, now they don't have a dad. Equally on, on Matthew's side, Johnny's brother. Matthew could, Matthew Goudreau never turned into the superstar that Johnny Goudreau, uh,

was, but he equally will have that, um, you know, the knock-on effect throughout his family and his friends and all their lives going forward. And I think what happens when a public figure passes away tragically like this, and certainly we've been through this in Vancouver with Rick Rippin and Luke Bourdain.

And, uh, we just think like it just, it hits us because we have to let us hit us because we know, we know, we know, we don't know these people, but we know who they are. And the hockey world is going to be so different without Johnny hockey. And then we talk, then we start thinking about our lives and the people world is going to be so different without Johnny hockey. And then we talk, then we start thinking about our lives

and the people in our lives who, you know, I, last night I was thinking, God, how do you deal with this? You know, I've never,

you know, thank God I've never had to deal with a tragedy like this in my life of anyone close to me like this passing like this. I'm sure people who are listening have, and I'm not going to try and put words in their mouths, but I imagine this is, that's one of those things where like you get the news and everything changes.

Yeah. And it feels surreal almost that two days ago we had Columbus Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell on, and we were talking about all the changes in Columbus and what the team had gone through in the last year and what the team wanted to go through this year. That's crazy, man.

Let's play some audio out of it. But it's weird, my number one question for Don Waddell, not number one, but when it came to Johnny Goudreau, it was like, you know, what have you talked about with Johnny? Because, you know, he came over from Calgary to much fanfare, hasn't really worked out for the team since signing Johnny Goudreau.

You know, like it seems so, it seems just so ridiculous to be like, you know, we were wondering if he was going to buy into the new culture and things like that. And here's what Don Waddell had to say when I asked him about Johnny Goudreau. When I talked to Johnny, it's funny, I talked to him one of the first few days after I got the job and I asked him who his best coaches were. And, you know, Daryl Sutter was his number one guy and you know Daryl's a hard coach yeah as we know it had lots of success and the second one was Bob Hartley who I had for five or six years and I know how he is so you know it made me say you know this player likes to be around structure and the accountability factor I actually took him out

to the golf course yesterday he's a big golfer oh yeah and so we took him out to the golf course yesterday. He's a big golfer. Oh, yeah. So we spent the day in the golf course yesterday, and he's pretty damn competitive, I can tell you that. And he does, he wants to win. So that was the question about Johnny Goudreau, and Don started talking about Dean Evison

and what that relationship was going to be like with Johnny Goudreau. Yeah, well, actually, sorry not to cut you off there, but I listened to the full clip last night. And, you know, it was interesting because Waddell started talking about how maybe they hadn't seen the best of Johnny Goudreau in Columbus because of the situation that was surrounding him. And he said, you know, the environment played a big part in the first two years of Johnny Goudreau's career in Columbus. And I think playing it the way that we did wasn't necessarily

about the quote itself, but in a bigger picture, a lot more instructive of just how shocking this is. Because if you want to put it in perspective, 48 hours ago, we had Johnny Goudreau's general manager on the show talking about his excitement for the upcoming campaign. And you want to talk about how emotions and direction and everything can change. And it sounds so trite and so cliched in a heartbeat. That entire idea of this being an exciting, promising, something that you would look forward to time in Columbus is it's a, it's a forgotten memory. It's a, it's a distant thing.

Now it's shocking, truly shocking. And I know just repeating the words, truly shocking doesn't really hammer at home anymore, but it is just a stunning turn of events in the span of a week. We've got a lot of texts in here. Unsigned here. This tragedy is a great reminder not to take life for granted and to cherish your loved ones every day.

You can rest in peace to the Goudreau boys. Um, yeah, it's just, I mean, we all, we all live like this, right? None of us are guaranteed anything. We're not guaranteed five minutes from now. We're not guaranteed certainly beyond that. But we all know we don't live like that. We let the little things get to us in life and we let, you know, and in some ways because we have to, right? It is a good reminder every once in a while that we are all going to die, but you can't

just live like that. And, um, but it is, I find that these tragedies often give us an opportunity to have some gratitude for what we do have. Um, we live in one of the greatest countries in the world and yet you see the discourse about this country. And, um, you know the discourse about this country.

And, you know, if you're listening to some people, it sounds like we live in some sort of dystopian nightmare. You know, try and focus on what you do have, on the things, the good things that you do have. Everyone's going to have frustrations and struggles in life, some more than others. But think of a tragedy like this and how if you're Johnny Goudreau's wife or you're a family member of Matthew Goudreau and, you know, yesterday you were worried about, I don't know, your car needing to get some money put into it. That means nothing now. It means absolutely nothing. So I think it is probably important and instructive to remind everyone

that this isn't just Johnny Goudreau's passing that we're focusing on today. As mentioned, both he and his younger brother, Matthew Goudreau, passed away tragically as the two were cycling in their hometown of Salem, New Jersey, last night. Now, Matthew, for those that don't know, also played professional hockey, both at the American League and the ECHL level, following a career at Boston College, where the Goudreau brothers actually spent one year together playing as teammates at the university level.

We should also mention that Johnny and Matthew are survived by their parents, Guy and Jane Goudreau, as well as their siblings, their sisters, Kristen and Katie. There are multiple reports that the entire family was gathered in Salem, New Jersey this weekend. Just an unspeakable tragedy because the sister, Katie, was set to be married this weekend. And that Johnny and Matthew were going to be acting as groomsmen in the wedding. Johnny Goudreau was born in Salem, New Jersey, where the accident happened.

He grew up in nearby Kearney's Point Township. And for those that don't know the arc of his career, he went to the United States Hockey League and he played in Iowa with the Dubuque Saints and actually graduated from high school there. And it was there where his career really took off. It was actually following that first year at USHL where he was drafted by the Calgary Flames

in the fourth round of the 2011 draft. But the Johnny Hockey aura and mystique and star really didn't take off until he became a member of the Boston College men's hockey program and then got to share that one year where he was able to play with his brother. Johnny Goudreau really burst onto the scene at Boston College in his freshman year because Boston College also won a national title that year. And that's when you really started to hear more about this diminutive five foot six puck handling wizard who there were some questions about his ability coming out of the USHL. Like, will his game translate, despite how small he was, to the next level? And then just burst onto the scene at the NCAA level. And a lot of people really started to take notice and say, hey, what's going on here? Because as a freshman, for the best team in the country, he won the Beanpot MVP.

He won the Hockey East Tournament MVP. He was a difference maker on a national championship team in his freshman year. And then you really started to see his star take off more and more as his collegiate career went on. His sophomore year, I think a lot of people remember it because he was on that world junior team in 2013 for Team USA that captured gold. That was the one that was kind of famously backstopped by John Gibson, who won tournament MVP.

But Goudreau was an all-tournament team member. He led the American team in scoring on a gold medal winning team and then went back to BC, and that was the first year that he got nominated and finished as one of the finals for the Hobie Baker. And then in 2014, his junior year, which is the year he actually went back to school as opposed to maybe turning pro because he had already been drafted by Calgary, that was the year he got to play with his brother, Matthew Goudreau. And that was also the year that he won the Hobie Baker.

Now, there are a lot of ties to the Vancouver Canucks, interestingly enough, from the early stages of Johnny Goudreau's career. I didn't realize this until doing the research very late last night, as in case anyone is tuning in right now, we are talking about the tragic passing of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau. Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets died in a vehicle bicycling.

Him and his brother were bicycling yesterday, last night in New Jersey. Gaudreau's first ever NHL goal came in his first ever NHL game in his first ever NHL game in his first ever NHL shot uh against the Vancouver Canucks and Jacob Markson was in that in a 5-1 loss for the Calgary Flames and you know for a lot of Canucks fans a lot of people listening uh we saw a lot of Johnny Gaudreau and all the outstanding on ice accomplishments he had as a member of the Calgary Flames I think a

lot of people remember the 2015 playoff series, which was Goudreau's official rookie year, because he did only play in that one game after turning pro from Boston College. And I think a lot of people remember Johnny Goudreau scoring a lot of points in that first round playoff series victory over the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, that six game victory, including the closeout game where he had a goal and three points in a victory over the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, that six-game victory, including the closeout game where he had a goal and three points in a victory over the Vancouver Canucks,

and that was the Willie Desjardins team that made the playoffs that year rather surprisingly. So there's a lot to unpack here, obviously, from the memories side of things, the condolences side of things, trying to bring across the news part of this, which we will be doing throughout the show um and again if you want to weigh in with any thoughts any memories any condolences

any messages you would you want to pass along i know this news is hitting a lot of our listeners exceptionally hard because a lot of people there's a lot of calgary flames fans here quite frankly there's a lot of johnny goudreau fans here who admired the way that he played hockey. Yeah, he was one of those guys where when he picked up the puck, as a Canucks fan, I was like, oh boy. Yeah. This isn't going to be good. No.

And he was just so unbelievably talented. And he was part of the wave of undersized players that entered the NHL and, uh, you know, the hockey world kind of went, Hmm, we should be giving these guys more of a chance. Yeah. And the game has changed a little bit since the hooking and holding and obstructionist ways of

the, uh, eighties and nineties, especially the nineties. But, you know, I was reading last night, before this news had been confirmed, but there were all sorts of rumors about it on social media. So I knew that we were probably going to have to talk about this today. And, you know, I was reading this article in The Athletic about how the Flames ended up drafting Goudreau

and they had a quote from his dad. And he said, I think people see him now and it's like, okay, he's a good hockey player, plays in the NHL, but a lot of people don't realize all the times he's been cut and told he's too small and he fought through all that to get to where he's at. That's probably what I'm the proudest of. And, you know, everyone has,

everyone who makes it to the NHL has their own story of various challenges they've overcome. If you're a late round pick, you've, you know, you haven't had good odds of making it to the NHL, but even if you're a first round pick, you've got the pressure of, you know, now you've been drafted, now you actually have to perform.

And Johnny Goudreau had an especially, um, unique story behind him. And a lot of that was just how small he was compared to his teammates. And yet consistently he was, if not the best, one of the best players on his team. And we all remember the day that he chose to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. And again, all this seems like, yeah, who cares?

Like we made a big deal out of it, but it was a big deal in the sports world. Sure. In the sports world and that's the world we live in. And, you know, his decision to sign with Columbus, like why, why did he leave Calgary? Why didn't he go to Philly? What happened there?

And we talked about it and we wondered about it. And, you know, we wondered at times during watching the Columbus Blue Jacks over the first two years, if he'd made a mistake, uh, going to Columbus, but there's so much more to his life. And there's so much more to everyone's life than the work that they do. And I just can't stop thinking about his wife

and two young kids and, um, how you deal with that, how you do and what you feel when you get delivered news like this. Um, again, we've been through this, um, as a fan base in Vancouver with, uh, Luke Bourdain and Rick Rippin, and I would add Jason Botchford to that list as well. Now, Mike and I had to go through that with Botch as a friend and a colleague.

But it's nothing compared to what Jason's family had to go through. You know, this is the type of thing. It just, it impacts so many lives that just, uh, it just, uh, such a, a significant and like shocking and just like punch in the gut way. And I think it might be also a good reminder to, um, you know, when you're wondering, you know, I constantly wonder in this world, especially when I see the dialogue on social media and I just see where things are going. And I go, what, what, you know, what made you like this?

Why are you like this? And why do you behave like this? Um, and you never know what people have gone through in their lives. You never know the loss that they've dealt with in their lives. And I apologize, I'm rambling a little bit right now, but like this type of stuff should get

you thinking about life and how things can change like that and when you are lucky enough to have people that you're close with, your family, your friends, loved ones, kids, grandkids. Appreciate them. Have some gratitude. Don't let all the other garbage eclipse or overshadow that gratitude you have in your life. Think of the Goudreau family right now.

Think of Johnny Goudreau's wife who's going to be thinking about, I'm going to raise these kids without their dad. You know, it's, it is hard to think about it. And I wouldn't be surprised if some people are like, I'm going to flip the channel and talk about something and listen to something else because this is hard. I don't blame you.

Go ahead and do that if you feel like that. But, um, this is one of these moments where, you know, in some ways you should feel it. And we get reminded of this sort of stuff. Not every day, but it has happened. Again, I mentioned like, I remember when Luke Bourdain passed and I was like, what? 21 years old, Luke Bordon in a motorcycle accident.

I remember when Rick Rippin passed and that was so tragic because then we all wondered what Rick Rippin had been doing or had been going through, um, that he felt the need to take his life. When Jason Botchford passed, I remember the news that I got. I was at an airport actually. And, um, I was actually just coming back from a really fun bachelor party. And I got the news and Mike and I had to sit on that news for a couple of days. We even had to do a show knowing that Jason had passed.

But the news wasn't out there because we had to respect the privacy of his family. And having to go on the air and break that news to everyone was really hard because we knew it would hit people hard and that it would just change the way that hockey was covered in Vancouver. It would just change a lot. And we still miss Botch today. We still wonder, you know, we still miss Rick Rippon, uh, uh, and we are, we're appreciative of the legacy that was left behind by Rick

Rippon and all the, the good things that did come from that. People talking about mental health, people talking about their problems. Um, and we remember Luke Bourdain and we wonder what could have been. We were just talking about the 2006 World Juniors with Justin Pogge.

Yeah. And Luke Bourdain was a big member of the Canadian team on that. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. 8.33 on a Friday you're listening to the Halpern and Brough show on Sportsnet 650 if you've been listening

to the show this morning or if you're just tuning in right now you've been listening to the show this morning, or if you're just tuning in right now, you've probably noticed that it sounds a lot different than it normally does, especially on a Friday. There is reason for that. It is because very early this morning, New Jersey State Police, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the NHL all announced and confirmed that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey.

Gaudreau, who was 31, and his brother Matthew, who was 29, are New Jersey natives, and they were in the area for their sister Katie's wedding, which was scheduled for today in Philadelphia. Johnny and Matthew were set to be groomsmen at that wedding. New Jersey State Police this morning, very early this morning, said that the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck the Goudreau brothers from behind. It caused fatal injuries and they passed away at the scene. Police said that the driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and

charged with two counts of death by auto and jailed at a local correctional facility. It is incredibly tragic, sad news. We know that many of you have been listening since six o'clock this morning and have been gone through the last two and a half hours as we've discussed this tragedy. We've gone into the Dunbar Lumber text line and read some of your texts. We've had guests on the show, including Aaron Portsline from The Athletic in Columbus. If you'd like to listen to any of that,

hours one and hours two of the podcast of this show are now available for download. We're going to be joined by another guest now. Derek Wills, the play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames for Sportsnet 960 is joining us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Derek, obviously no need to say good morning and no need to ask how you're doing.

I do want to start by asking when you found out about the news, where you were, and what your, I mean, I know what your reaction was, but what was your reaction upon hearing about Johnny Gaudreau's passing? Well, news started to trickle out, or reports started to trickle out last night. I was sitting around the fire and relaxing and enjoying a nice evening here in Cochrane and got a text just giving me a heads up that something may have happened. And then, you know, the next four, five, six hours, it was constantly refreshing my Twitter feed,

you know, respectfully reaching out to some people who might still be up, who might have more information. But ultimately, I got to the point where I thought, well, probably not going to hear one way or the other tonight. So I tried to get some sleep and I was hoping that when I woke up this morning that it was going to be good news and not the news that we all received. So I mean just an unspeakable tragedy for a guy who loved playing the game of hockey and who I think it's safe to say, even for fans of other teams, you know, if your favorite team was playing the Flames or playing the Blue Jackets,

I still think that, you know, most fans probably had the ability to appreciate the unique things that Johnny Gaudreau could do on the ice. So just obviously a tragic day for the Goudreau family and having had an opportunity to get to know them over the years. I just can't even imagine what they're going through right now, especially as you mentioned on what was supposed to be a wonderful day with Katie getting married and then everybody that Johnny touched, whether it be family or friends or teammates or fans. I mean, I think it's rare in our world where someone is given the gifts that Johnny was

and was able to share those gifts with the world and touch hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people with his ability to play the game and with his personality. And just a horrible day. I mean, there's no way around it. What was your relationship like with Johnny Goudreau? I wouldn't say that we were friends, but I would say that we were friendly. I mean, Johnny played one game in the NHL prior to his first full season in the league, which was my first full season back in 2014, 2015. I scored his first goal in his first game, which, you know, in hindsight, felt and feels fitting.

But I had an opportunity to get to know him. Again, not his friends but um working together and you'd chat about hockey you'd chat about life occasionally got to know his family um his dad Guy and his mom Jane and I was just looking back at some of my interactions with his family um and I usually once a year will post a video of uh the walk across the catwalk at Scotiabank Saddledome, you know, people get a kick out of it. And, uh, his mom saw it and reached out and asked if, if I could set up, uh, a tour of, of the press box and, uh, if she could, uh, could take that walk at the dome.

Um, so, uh, one night I, I set it up with Tori Peterson, who's one of the social media people for the flames. And, you know, she brought Jane and, uh, Katie and Meredith, um, for that walk across the catwalk. Um, so, uh, just, just one of the millions of memories I have of, um, of Johnny and my interactions with him and interactions with his family. But, you know, in the media, in the media, he was, you know, could be cliche at times, which I think most players in the league are.

But Johnny always had time for us. You know, he was the biggest star here in Calgary for the eight years he spent here and never turned down an interview request. And even when he spoke in cliches, he would still take the time to do so. And he always had that smile on his face, whether he was on the ice or off the ice. And that's certainly one of the things that I'll never forget about him, just how much he loved the game and how much he loved being around the rink. I was listening to the morning fan 916 Calgary's morning show on the way in this morning.

Obviously, incredibly raw emotionally, both from the hosts and from everyone that was calling in. And, you know, the one sense that I got from the numerous fans that were calling in to express how upset and how tragic this was and, I mean, how shocked they were as well, is that despite how the ending went, there was still a very, very warm spot in the heart of a lot of Calgary Flames fans for Johnny Goudreau.

Why do you think he resonated with fans so much beyond the other average player or star that would have come through Calgary playing for that team? It's a great question. It's actually something that I've spent some time thinking about since the reports started trickling out last night. I really think it's because we had an opportunity to watch him grow up. You know, he was fresh out of Boston College when he made his NHL debut and then had a summer to get ready for his first full season in the league. And I remember the first time I met him. And the Young Stars Classic is coming up in Penticton in a couple of weeks.

And it was at the South Okanagan Event Centre. We're outside of the Flames dressing room. I went up to Johnny and introduced myself and wanted to make sure that I got the pronunciation of his last name correct. I said, is it Goudreau? And he said, yeah. And when I was on Sportsnet 960 this morning, they talked about how unassuming he was. And absolutely true. You know, Goudreau is not how you pronounce his last name, but he was so unassuming that he didn't care. I cared and found out later in the season

when I first met his dad, Guy, and his mom, Jane, who were waiting for him outside the dressing room after a game on the road somewhere. When I introduced myself to them, they did the same. And Guy said, nice to meet you. I'm Guy Gaudreau. And I'm like, oh, I've been saying Johnny's name incorrectly for the first half season of his career. So I better correct that. And thankfully, we all got it right after that. But we watched him grow up. I remember his first couple of seasons, the guys would always give him the gears And thankfully, we all got it right after that. But we watched him grow up. I remember his first couple of seasons, the guys would always give him the gears because he was like a kid in many ways.

He acted like a kid when he was around the rink again because he loved the game so much and loved being around his teammates and coaches. And he used to love to eat candy. And the guys would give him a hard time about that. But then we watched him, you know, go from this young man who was trying to figure out how to be a professional hockey player on the ice and off the ice to a husband, a father of two. And we got to watch him grow up right in front of our eyes. And obviously the fans got to see it to a certain extent, but behind the curtain we got to see it to an even greater extent.

And even if he was just a kid in a candy store at times, he was always pleasant to be around. He always had a smile on his face. He would always have a conversation with you and and those are just the things that he that he did off the ice on the ice guys i mean one of the greatest players that i've had an opportunity to watch and i say that because sometimes you gain a greater appreciation for a player when you get to watch him every day when you get to watch him practice when you get to watch him at morning skates and when you get to watch him every day, when you get to watch him practice, when you get to watch him at morning skates, and when you get to watch him like everybody else

playing the games. And in the games, he brought the fans to their feet. Now I stand when I call games, but I can tell you that on countless occasions, despite me standing, it would lead to me jumping. He'd almost make me jump when I was calling a game because of the incredible things that he could do on the ice. And I remember it was the Flames' final game before Christmas in that first season of 2014-2015. And I believe they had lost eight straight. And they were in Los Angeles playing the Kings.

And behind in that game, Johnny Gaudreau scored a hat trick, including the game tying goal late in the third period. Mark Giordano ended up scoring the game winner in overtime. And I remember thinking about how important that Johnny Gaudreau hat trick and that Mark Giordano goal were for the team, because to go into the Christmas break with nine straight losses, I mean, you'd spend half the break answering questions from family and friends about this terrible losing streak. Instead, they went in on a high and had a great second half of the season,

got to the playoffs unexpectedly. No one thought they'd have a chance to do that. Clinched a spot in the second-to-last game and then won a playoff series. Maybe that doesn't happen if Johnny Gaudreau doesn't score a hat trick that night. And you fast forward to, I think, his signature moment, not only with the Flames, but it's an NHLer. You know, Game 7, overtime against the Stars. Jake Ottinger looks unbeatable, you know, throughout the whole series and certainly

in Game 7. And, you know, Johnny Gaudreau from a sharp angle in the corner to Jake Ottinger looks unbeatable throughout the whole series and certainly in Game 7. And Johnny Gaudreau, from a sharp angle in the corner to Jake Ottinger's right, puts the puck into a teacup. The type of shot it was going to take to beat him, to win that game and to win that series and to set up the first Battle of Alberta in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 31 years. And I got emotional talking about this earlier. I probably will again. But you think about the relationships that these guys build with their teammates.

And Sean Monaghan was injured and couldn't play in that series. But for years and years, we watched Sean Monaghan and Johnny Goudreau, or Johnny and Monty, as Bob Hartley used to say, and the incredible chemistry they had together on the ice. Well, great friends off the ice. So Johnny scores that goal to win the game and to win the series, and Monty's at the end of the tunnel waiting for him to come off the ice. And I'll never forget the embrace that they shared in that moment.

And earlier in this offseason, you know, I was so excited to hear that Johnny and Sean were going to be reunited playing for the Blue Jackets. And I can't imagine how excited they both were to have that opportunity to play together again, to be teammates again, to spend more time together on the ice and off the ice. I just, this is just tragic in so many ways, guys. And I, again, I can't wrap my head around what the Gaudreau's must be feeling right now on a

day that should have been a celebration of Katie's wedding. You know, this happens on the eve. It's unimaginable for me, fellas. Us as well. It's been a truly awful day, and there's a lot of heartache and a lot of pain, and it's coming from everywhere, including people that are listening right now,

and I can hear it in your voice as well, Derek. So I really want to thank you for taking the time to do this today. I know it couldn't have been easy, and I can tell that with all of the anecdotes and stories that you had that um you know Johnny Gaudreau was a special person as everyone's made him out to be today that have come on the show and thanks for doing this we really appreciate it yeah great player but uh a really good guy. A son, a brother, a husband, a father, and we're all going to miss him. But I feel for that family today,

and I feel for that family for forever. It's a life-changing moment in all the wrong ways, and my deepest condolences to them. Thanks for doing what you guys are doing. I think it's part of the grieving process. For those of us who had a chance to cover johnny and what a great honor it was to do that for eight years um and also for fans i feel like hockey fans especially flames fans and probably to a lesser extent blue jackets fans but hockey fans in general felt the connection with this johnny hockey. And I think we're all feeling horrible today.

So thanks for doing what you guys are doing to help us through it. And deepest condolences to Johnny's family and friends and everybody you have touched. Thanks, Derek. We appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Derek Wills, the play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames on Fan 960 in Calgary. One thing about the human experience about when there is a loss, even if it's a tragic loss, your emotions bounce around because the reality hits you hard and you feel like crying out of sadness.

But then anyone who's been to a funeral or a memorial service knows that there are times where you're smiling or even outright laughing at remembering these people. And, um, you know, we were talking earlier in the show about how Johnny hockey was relatable to a lot of people because he was undersized and, you know, there's probably a lot of people out there. I mean, not everyone's six, four, two 20, right. Um, and, uh, you know, that was a relatable part for me when I was a kid, I was a really picky eater and we've got a picky eater at home. Like it is, we just went to Italy and our picky eater really enjoyed the spaghetti and butter.

Like just, just like had reviews on all the different restaurants throughout Tuscany. Like who had the best spaghetti with butter? Yep. Johnny Hockey was the same way. And Sean Monaghan used to poke fun at him and he would say he likes his pasta, doesn't want any sauce on it, just butter.

And there was a story from his old coach, uh, Jim Montgomery, I guess, Boston college coach. And this is making its way around on social media. And he was talking about Johnny's nutrition habits. Um, and he says he doesn't like vegetables.

He hardly likes fruit. The first team barbecue we had, all he ate was three hamburgers with ketchup only. He was trying to put on weight because he knew it was his draft year. He started drinking two milkshakes a day and got on, on a Nutella kick. He was eating Nutella by the spoonful, I guess.

In the middle of one practice, he came, he came out to me and said, Coach, my stomach feels awful. They take him to a doctor. The doctor asked him a bunch of questions. Turns out he was eating so much Nutella that he got constipated. Yeah. I mean, that is the most relatable thing I've ever heard about a professional athlete. That was the nickname Johnny Ham and Cheese.

Yeah, yeah. Because for a while, seven days a week, that's all he'd eat was a ham and cheese sandwich. So the other, so another story about this is when like, I remember as a kid, as a fussy eater, right? It was like, you know, things that you would think would be enjoyable. You always had this like anxiety about, about like a kid's birthday party. Well, what if they have like, I didn't need this, right? Or what if they have that? Well, I don't need that.

When we used to go on trips, um, it was like, well, what if they have that well i don't eat that when we used to go on trips uh i was like well what if they don't have the food that i like i guess the flames did a trip to china yes i think they played some johnny was panicking oh yeah because he's like i don't know if i'm gonna like any of the food brought his own ham and cheese for in china yeah um you know it's it's. I do remember those stories making him more relatable. Because it was something that everyone was like, yeah, I have a kid that is the exact same way. Right.

Yeah. And Johnny's in the NHL that way though. Right. And we've, you know, I have a friend who never really got over the, I got over the picky eating thing. But I have a friend who never did got over the, I got over the picky eating thing. Um, but I have a friend who, who never did. Right. And, uh, it just, you know, again, this is, this is one of these things where, um, we've

been talking about this for three hours now and we've gone from the shock and the emotions of thinking about his family and, and don't get me wrong for his family, you know, they're not going to be ready to smile about this. Yeah.

Not today, but you know, we're not his family. We didn't know him personally. And I think that is part of the process that you, that you go through. You think,

Oh, you know, horrible tragedy, but then a few things make you smile. Like we've played a couple of his goal calls today and we've, you know, we've had guests on that have recalled some, uh, some good stories about him. We're talking about his fussy eating and, um, you know,

it's just what you go through to process this type of news. Yeah. And a reminder that if you want to weigh in throughout the day, the Dunbar Lumber text line is 650-650. A lot of people have texted in throughout the last three hours, sharing their thoughts, their memories of Johnny Goudreau, what they're feeling in the moment, how they're processing this tragedy. Anything goes at this point. The Dunbar Lumber text line is there.

It's going to be monitored throughout the day and it will be read. But for today, we do need to say goodbye. We're going to go to break here as we turn things over to the rest of the programming with a special Johnny Gaudreau tribute that was put together by the folks at Sportsnet.

We'll be back on Monday, but I also want to thank Lena and Zach in particular for producing a show that was incredibly difficult to do. Not that this is about us or about the show, but I just want to recognize everybody's efforts in trying to do this today

as we try and properly honor, remember, and take into account how big a tragedy this is and how many lives this has affected. What will follow is a tribute to Johnny Goudreau. Signing off for today, I've been Mike Halford. He's been Jason Brough.

She's been Lena. He's been Zach. This has been the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Sportsnet 650 honors the life and legacy of Johnny Goudreau. It's been a long day without you, my friend. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. Good stick check by Sutter, but the Flames keep it in. Gaudreau steps in.

Gaudreau shoots and scores! Johnny Gaudreau roots the puck over Ryan Miller's right shoulder and the Flames defeat the Canucks and get their first win of the season, three to the final in overtime. I don't know how else to describe what Johnny Gaudreau could do at top speed. Gosh, he's flying.

He was supersonic. He was amazing. We've come a long way from where we began. Yeah, we've come a long way. From where we began. No, we started. Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. Goodrow scores!

Johnny Goodrow sets the Flames to round two. Bring on the Battle of Alberta. This is a smart goal scorer's goal. You know, from a bad angle, and Goodrow just knew that Auturbia, you know, is still retreating back to the post. And that puck had eyes, and somehow a pretty happy group and a pretty happy city at the moment in Calgary. And every road you take Always leads you home

Home Obviously, Calgary has a special place in my heart. I've been part of this organization for 11 years now, so ever since day one I got here, the fans, the organization, my teammates, everything about this city I love. You know, I hope people remember me as, you know, a good person off the ice, a good teammate. I'm just a good person, I think. You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough.