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The author had a memorable golf game with NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who died in August, 2024. In this file photo, Gaudreau is shown playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in January 2024 in Philadelphia.
The author had a memorable golf game with NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who died in August, 2024. In this file photo, Gaudreau is shown playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in March 2024.
The author had a memorable golf game with NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who died in August, 2024. In this file photo, Gaudreau is shown playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in January 2024 in Philadelphia.
The recent, tragic death of hockey star Johnny Gaudreau in a bicycle accident rekindled the memory of a chance encounter I had with the hockey great in July 2021.
I had signed up as a single golfer to play the Shore Gate golf course in Sea Isle, New Jersey. Upon arrival, I found out I was paired with a family of three, consisting of a mother, father and son. Not wanting to interfere with this family outing, I asked the starter if there was another group I could join. “Well,” he replied, “there are two young guys on the first tee. If you hurry up, you should be able to catch them.”
I smashed the golf cart accelerator and, skipping introductions, slammed my opening drive down the first fairway. We introduced ourselves at the end of the first hole and one of the young men introduced himself as “Johnny.” The remainder of the front nine of this difficult Jersey Shore course was played without incident.
The author had a memorable golf game with NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who died in August, 2024. In this file photo, Gaudreau is shown playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in March 2024.
Although the young golfers could hit the ball a long distance, they both has very little control, resulting in a lot of balls in the woods and in the many water hazards at Shore Gate. What impressed me, though, was their reactions to their less-than-stellar shots. Instead of getting angry, they laughed off their mis-hits and praised my good shots.
As we were waiting to begin the back nine, the real fun began. I was listening to the two young men discuss when Johnny’s training camp was to begin. This immediately caught my attention, and when the friend asked how Johnny thought the team was going to perform this year, I immediately began to question if I was playing golf with a professional athlete.
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Since Johnny was only 5 foot 9, I reasoned to myself that he wasn’t an NBA player! I soon blurted out, “Johnny, are you a professional hockey player?” “Yeah,” he replied. “I play for the Calgary Flames.” Having a reputation for asking politically incorrect questions, I next asked him, “Johnny, are you any good?” His friend immediately responded, “Any good? He is an NHL All-Star, one of the best players in the league; and, while in college, won the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey’s equivalent to football’s Heisman Trophy.”
I was very impressed to be playing golf with a hockey superstar, who had the nickname “Johnny Hockey.”
“Johnny,” I said, “I have two observations. I thought all hockey players were good golfers.” He laughed and said that he was a beginning golfer and would improve with time.
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Second, I questioned his small physical stature. He replied that he was one of the smallest players on the ice, but he made up for his lack of size with superior skating skills and great speed.
The back nine of that day at Shore Gate remains one of my favorite nines of golf in my 60 years of golfing. The two young men could not have been nicer to an old-timer they had just met. Johnny told me about his upcoming marriage a few weeks later and after exchanging hugs on the 18th green, we parted ways.
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I have been reading the fabulous eulogies Johnny Gaudreau has been receiving, and one of the things that strikes me is that the impression I formed of him in a four-hour round of golf was right on the mark. Humble, generous to his friends, a great sense of humor and grateful for the athletic skills that nature had bestowed on him.
That day in July of 2021 is a day I will never forget. The world of hockey and his family have lost a truly outstanding young man.
R.I.P., “Johnny Hockey.”
The author lives in East Hempfield Township. While riding their bikes on Aug. 29, 2024, in New Jersey, Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were struck and killed by a car driven by an alleged drunken driver.
If you know an interesting, true story, please write it in 600 words or less and send it to Mary Ellen Wright, LNP editorial department, P.O. Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608-1328, or email it to features@lnpnews.com. (No fiction or poetry, please). Please include your phone number and the name of the town you live in.
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