Crossfield residents Larry Hodgson and his wife have been collecting signatures and messages from Calgary Flames fans to send a condolence book to the Gaudreau family.
Johnny (Hockey) Gaudreau, 31, and his brother, Matthew (29), died on August 29 when they were involved in a collision. According to reports, the two brothers were identified as two cyclists killed when they were struck by a vehicle in Salem County, New Jersey.
Hodgson talked about how the idea of creating the book came about.
"After hearing the news about their passing Friday morning, I wanted to do something for their family but didn't know what. Then, Saturday morning, the idea of creating a condolence book happened."
Saturday, Hodgson and his wife went down to the Saddledome and had people sign and write notes in it.
"We over 600 signatures and messages, that was just on the Saturday, from about 10 o'clock in the morning to about nine o'clock at night."
Then on Monday Hodgson was in his hometown of Crossfield where he had 80-90 residents sign and write their messages in the book. He is still collecting a few more signatures before he sends it off to the Gaudreau family.
"I got people from the Canadian Brewhouse in Airdrie to sign; they gave me a knife and fork with the hockey sticks on the end, along with a couple of Canadian flags to send as well."
With the total number of signatures and messages near the 700 mark, Hodgson also took pictures of those willing at the Saddledome to send to the Gaudreau family as well. He went on to talk about why Gaudreau was so special to him.
"I loved the way he played. He wasn't there to cause fights; he was there to play hockey. He made me a Flames fan."
Hodgson is working with the Flames to send the book and items to the family when he is done collecting signatures and messages.
The Calgary Flames selected Gaudreau in the fourth round, 104th overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. His younger brother Matthew played for the Reading Royals of the ECHL (minor professional ice hockey league in New Jersey). Gaudreau spent a total of nine seasons with the Flames from 2013-14 to 2021-22.
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