Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield will be changing his number from 22 to 13 this season to honor the late Johnny Gaudreau, Caufield announced Tuesday.
Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed last Thursday in a traffic crash while riding bicycles in New Jersey, sending the hockey world into a state of mourning. The tragedy especially stuck with Caufield.
As an undersized player, Caufield looked up to Gaudreau as proof that you didn’t need to be the biggest guy to thrive in the NHL. When Caufield played for the under-18 team at the United States National Team Development Program in 2018-19, he wore No. 13 and broke the program’s single-season goal record previously held by Auston Matthews.
He wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday evening that the reason he wore No. 13 at the USNTDP was because of Gaudreau, who he considered an inspirational hero.
“I wore #13 at a point in my career because of Johnny and now I will be wearing it again to honor him” Caufield wrote. “He paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level. I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.”
À compter de cette saison, Cole Caufield portera le numéro 13 en l’honneur de Johnny Gaudreau ❤️
Starting this season, Cole Caufield will wear No. 13 in honor of Johnny Gaudreau ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aZLOUSXxcV
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 4, 2024
Caufield’s NHL debut came on April 26, 2021, and for that milestone game, he lined up for the opening faceoff in Calgary across from Gaudreau. This past spring, Caufield got a chance to be teammates with Gaudreau on Team USA at the IIHF men’s world championships.
“Getting to play with your hero is something that most people only dream of. I was lucky enough to be Johnny’s teammate this past summer and it didn’t take long to realize how great of a person he was,” Caufield wrote. “He was the most welcoming, genuine, and funniest guy I have ever met.
“He was someone everyone gravitated towards and I took every chance I could to be around him. Not only was he an amazing hockey player and teammate, but he was down to earth and truly cared about every person he encountered.”
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(Photo: Brett Holmes / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
