USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints to retire Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey number

Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

A special ceremony will take place prior to puck drop Saturday when the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints host the Sioux City Musketeers as Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 8 will be raised to the rafters at the ImOn Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Skating a single season with the Fighting Saints before later joining the NCAA’s Boston College Eagles and ultimately being selected 104th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL Draft, Gaudreau spent the 2010-11 campaign with Dubuque where through 60 contests he paced the club with 72 points counting 36 goals and 36 assists before adding another 11 points in as many postseason games en route to a Clark Cup championship.

“It was an honour befitting of his contribution to the organization and also obviously the sad circumstances that happened,” Fighting Saints co-owner Peter Luukko told Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press. “He was one of the better players in the history of the team.”

With the Fighting Saints, Gaudreau suited up in No. 8, not yet known by the iconic No. 13 he sported during his time with the Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, and while representing his native United States in international competition. The special occasion marks the first jersey number to be retired in the Fighting Saints’ franchise history.

Several members of the Gaudreau family will be in attendance for the ceremony, including parents Guy and Jane, sisters Katie and Kristen, and widow Meredith.

Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed in August as a result of an alleged intoxicated driver while riding bicycles near their hometown of Salem, N.J.

In addition to the jersey retirement, the USHL is also expected to announce the creation of the Gaudreau Award, to be presented each year to a league player who best exemplifies excellence in hockey and spirit of the game.

Gaudreau played 763 NHL games with the Flames and Blue Jackets from 2013-24 in which he totaled 243 goals and 500 assists for 743 points. In 2016-17, Gaudreau was presented with the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s most sportsmanlike player.