The USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints will honor the greatest player in their history this season when Johnny Gaudreau’s number becomes the first to be retired by the team. The team is currently planning a full memorial ceremony, details will be announced at a later date, but Gaudreau’s No. 8 will never be worn by another player in Dubuque.

Gaudreau, who tragically died last month along with his brother Matthew after being hit by a car, spent one season with the Fighting Saints in 2010-11. It was in Dubuque that Gaudreau’s star began to rise.

In his only season at Dubuque, Gaudreau scored 72 points as a 17-year-old to lead the team. He was named USHL Rookie of the Year and helped the Fighting Saints win the Clark Cup as USHL postseason champions. Gaudreau scored 11 points in 11 games during the magical run led by current Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery.

After that season, the undersized dynamo was drafted 104th overall by the Calgary Flames. He spent the next three seasons at Boston College, playing last year alongside his brother Matthew.

Johnny won a national championship as a freshman at BC and won the Hobey Baker as a junior. He then signed with the Flames and began a successful NHL career, reaching the NHL All-Star Game seven times and receiving a number of other awards and accolades.

While still an active NHL player, he also became a minority owner of the Fighting Saints.

The USHL honored the Gaudreau brothers last week with a moment of silence before all 16 games of the 2024 USHL Fall Classic in Pittsburgh. USHL players and officials also wore black stickers with “JG” and “MG” on their helmets throughout the event.

I think of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau #USHL Autumn classic 🫶

Teams and officials wear JG/MG stickers on their helmets 🤍 pic.twitter.com/Q8wJZmK1pc

– FloHockey (@FloHockey) September 19, 2024

The Dubuque Fighting Saints have been an active team in the USHL since 2010, with the Fighting Saints’ predecessors dating back to 1980.

While many great players have come through Dubuque during that time, Gaudreau’s No. 8 will be the first to hang from the rafters at ImOn Arena in Dubuque.

Johnny’s number 8 will forever hang in the rafters of ImOn Arena, along with the history he helped build as the first number in Fighting Saints history to be retired.

Plans for a full memorial ceremony are ongoing; Details will be announced at a later date. pic.twitter.com/Lbl7wn57kh

— Dubuque Fighting Saints (@fightingsaints) September 27, 2024

We will update this story as more details about the ceremony become available.

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