The Philadelphia Flyers had a very special guest coach during training camp on Monday, Guy Gaudreau — the father of the late John and Matthew Gaudreau. He was there after getting a special invite from Flyers head coach John Tortorella.
”He was hesitant at first, and we kind of let him go at his timetable,” Tortorella said.
”I think it worked out really well today. I gave him my camp book. We’re going to check in next week and see if we can get him out here a couple more times and have him be part of it. I don’t want it to be, ‘Just come out here.’ I want him to be part of it. I think it will be therapeutic for him to be around us and run some drills.”
Guy Gaudreau is a former hockey player and coach, and when he entered the ice on Monday, the Flyers tapped their sticks in appreciation. After the end of the skate, they also shook his hand to thank him for coming out and helping them.
”I never met Johnny and Matt in my travels as coach,” Tortorella said. ”But their family’s here. Horrific situation going on. He’s a coach. He’s done some great work with some of the youth out here. I figured it’s perfect just to get him in with us.”
Tortorella said Guy Gaudreau is more than welcome to help the Flyers out whenever he wants in the future. And although Torts had never met Gaudreau until Monday’s practice, there’s no denying he knows hockey.
”A lot of people know him in the organization because of his reputation,” Tortorella said.
The heartwarming gesture from Tortorella got the attention it deserved, and Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny’s widow, even took to social media to thank Tortorella for the gesture.
”John & Matty would love this. They’re both so proud of their dad, I know this made them smile as they watched down from heaven,” she wrote on X.
John Tortorella attended the funeral last month in a Philadelphia suburb. Now, he hopes that being around the Philadelphia Flyers may help Guy Gaudreau in the grieving process.
”We don’t want it to be an everyday story,” Tortorella said. ”We just want to help. To be in a locker room, coach to coach, player to coach, guys talking to him. I just hope it helps a little bit.”
