Hockey rink will be renamed in honor of Johnny and Matthew.
A local arena in Philly is doing a beautiful thing to honor the two boys who grew up playing on their ice.
The tragic passing of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau is still hanging heavy over the hockey community but I am happy to report that, while the boys may be gone, there are wonderful people out there doing everything in their power to ensure that their memories will live on for a very long time.
The latest example of that came to us over the weekend when a visibly distraught Gaudreau family participated in a tribute to their boys at the Hollydell Ice Arena. The arena was the sight of a North American Hockey League game between the Philadelphia Rebels and the Northeast Generals but it was also the sight of a beautiful tribute to Johnny and Matthew.
The Gaudreau family marched out to the ice wearing jerseys honoring both Matthew and Johnny and one of the Gaudreau sisters spoke briefly and thanked everyone for supporting the family at such a difficult time.
In a truly beautiful gesture however, it was announced that Hollydell Ice Arena would be changing the name of their Futures Rink, and would instead be moving forward with the name "The Gaudreau Rink" in honor of Matthew and Johnny.
This wasn't your typical tribute either as the arena in question had special meaning to Johnny. Matthew and the entire Gaudreau family. Both boys grew up playing hockey on that very same ice rink, with father Guy bringing them there every day as they fell in love with the sport of hockey.
Fans and loved ones clearly recognized the importance of the arena in the boys lives, with several tributes taking place at the arena following their tragic passing.
You can see more tributes and scenes from the tribute this weekend that involved the Gaudreau family in the video below shared by the Philadelphia Rebels.
