More Johnny Hockey Stories

[sureLoss]

http://www.si.com/nhl/2016/03/16/joh...ll-nhl-players

Sometimes it takes even more than on-ice creativity and slick stickwork to get people to look beyond the scale. When he was 17, during preseason camp with the USHL’s Dubuque (Iowa) Fighting Saints, representatives from NHL Central Scouting visited the junior team to measure draft-eligible prospects. At the time, Gaudreau’s weight hovered around the low 130s, not exactly an attractive number for potential suitors.

And so it was that Johnny Gaudreau stepped onto the scale with five pucks crammed inside his jock strap. He fudged the official weigh-in (137 pounds!), hiked up his pants and carefully waddled away so nothing tumbled out. “That’s all I was thinking about, getting as many extra pounds as I could,” he says. “Hopefully someone would [think] I wasn’t as skinny as I really was.”

Burke was working as the Maple Leafs’ GM in 2011 when an early evaluation of Gaudreau landed on his desk. He remembers the wording: “Dazzling player. Will not play Division I.”

“I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to play,” Burke says, equally astonished and admiring. “Nobody was. He shouldn’t be in this league at that height and weight. He doesn’t belong here.”

On a sunny day after practice in mid-February, Gaudreau rolls into a Calgary restaurant freshly shaved, having forsaken his latest attempt at facial hair because too many friends gave him grief. Aside from a few locals eyeing him through the window, lunch passes without interruption. This is unusual. “Oh, yeah, I notice people hiding their phones behind glasses,” he says.

Gaudreau has autographed both a baby’s pacifier and a Loonie coin. At a pregame tailgate during the 2014–15 playoffs, when the Flames reached the second round and Gaudreau led them with nine points, at least 50 people took pictures with his parents. A construction worker once gave Burke his hard hat, requesting Gaudreau sign it for him. “He’s become a poster boy for the city,” teammate and roommate Josh Jooris says. This year, when a deliveryman dropped off packages where Jane Gaudreau works, he slipped into her office because “I just wanted to meet Johnny Hockey’s mom.”

[nemanja2306]

Amazing article.

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[CroFlames]

Cool stuff. "Special player" gets thrown around too much these days, but I truly think Johnny is a special player. Overcame all sorts of odds to become a PPG player in his 2nd year in the NHL.

Iggy was, and is, a special and legendary player. But he also had the other tools classic GMs look for, and there was never any doubt he'd play in the NHL.

[Hackey]

Where's the video?

[Lanny_McDonald]

This guy writes some real good stuff. Nothing that is earth shattering, but enjoyable reads. I loved his finish. I think we are in in the congregation of which he speaks!

[Benched]

That stuff about the anticipation when Johnny is on the ice 3on3 is so true.

My GF and I get excited as soon as he hops over the boards....like "OK. Here. We. Go."

[The Yen Man]

I remember being at that Rangers game. The moment Johnny stepped onto the ice, everyone was on their feet anticipating magic. The buzz in the crowd was electrifying.

[cupofjoe]

Postadolescent naiveté is only acceptable to a point, though; when Gaudreau arrived to the rink late the morning after Super Bowl Sunday last month, he and two other teammates were scratched as punishment. The next day, Guy hammered the lesson home to his embarrassed son. “They want you to be a superstar,” he told Johnny. “You’re going to make all this money. There’s no excuse. This is part of growing up.”

Great Hockey Father.

[The Yen Man]

Yah, I love reading stories about Johnny's parents. They seem to be awesome people who taught their kids well.

[Huntingwhale]

Solid SI article, and makes up for that cluster#### of an article on Giordano a couple days ago.

Sometimes it gets repetitive hearing all the Gaudreau stories about him being too small. But at the same time, it must be very inspiring to kids everywhere to know that someone of his stature can make it.

Gaudreau is a special player and the Flames are incredibly fortunate to have him.

[IliketoPuck]

Awesome:

"But sometimes the attention is too loud to ignore, like when the Flames hosted the Rangers on Dec. 12. About one minute into overtime, while the Rangers held possession and both sides changed lines, Gaudreau hopped over the boards. He hadn’t even touched the puck before a roar spread around the rink. A few fans whistled. Someone blared a horn. “A gasp of anticipation,” Treliving remembers. “An electricity in the building,” Hartley says. Back-checking through the neutral zone, Gaudreau was confused. “I’m looking up like, Whoa, what’re they screaming about?” he said. “No one’s scored.”

"This last detail didn’t matter. The altar boy was on the ice. The congregation was rising to its feet. They’re all believers now."

[sureLoss]

Johnny encourages kids to cheat !

[stemit14]

Great article!! Love the character that this kid has. He's had to earn it every step of the way to make it this far. Being super skilled wouldn't have been enough to make it... He has to work harder than everyone out there to have a chance. Love hearing stories about his parents too... They seem to have done a great job with him and continue to do so.

Seems like Johnny has a great sense of humour about how short he is... Which is great. But every one of the people that have teased him about his height over the years are going to be very humbled by the hardware this guy is going to win in the years to come.


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[Erick Estrada]

That part about the delivery man and Jane indicates that his mom works in Calgary?

[Benched]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

That part about the delivery man and Jane indicates that his mom works in Calgary?

I don't think so. And I don't think Johnny is JUST famous in Calgary. Think he's something of a hometown hero as well...

[GranteedEV]

I don't think he's done filling out. He's added nearly 40lbs since his draft and I bet he'll add another 5-10.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Cool stuff. "Special player" gets thrown around too much these days, but I truly think Johnny is a special player. Overcame all sorts of odds to become a PPG player in his 2nd year in the NHL.

Iggy was, and is, a special and legendary player. But he also had the other tools classic GMs look for, and there was never any doubt he'd play in the NHL.

I agree.

I remember hearing a discussion about how he has not missed a game for injury since PeeWee. You know that every game he has every played he has been a played that was keyed on, yet he has not picked up an injury.

While he might not be significant in statute, he appears to be physically resilient, and that goes a long way to fulfilling the "special player" tag for me.

We are a lucky fanbase.