The Flyers honored the Gaudreau brothers with heartfelt tributes Saturday: 'That family ... is going to be a part of us.'

PHILADELPHIA — Speaking to the media Saturday before morning skate, John Tortorella said he expected to see Guy Gaudreau before the Flyers hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Wells Fargo Center later that night. What he didn’t expect was to get an earful.

“He has some thoughts,” Tortorella chuckled after the game when asked if Gaudreau gave him any advice. “That’s what I think is healthy for him, to get his mind into something. I want him to be part of it with the hockey side of it, but I also want their family to be part of our family with Philadelphia and the Flyers. [Johnny Gaudreau] didn’t play with us, but the whole situation is right in our back door here. So we just want to be there to help them and just be that avenue for them when they deem some necessary help.”

Tortorella did not know Guy Gaudreau until almost four months ago when he called to ask him to help coach at Flyers training camp.

The call came after tragedy struck the Gaudreau family. On Aug. 29, Guy’s sons, Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were killed by an allegedly drunk driver. The brothers were riding bikes in Oldmans Township, N.J., on the eve of what was scheduled to be their younger sister’s wedding. Johnny left behind two young children, Johnny and Noa; his wife, Meredith, and Matthew’s wife, Madeline, are pregnant.

Today, Guy Gaudreau, the longtime South Jersey youth hockey coach at Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell, N.J., and Gloucester Catholic High School, has a locker with his name on it next to Tortorella’s in Voorhees.

“He’s part of us,” Tortorella said. “That family, one way or another, is going to be a part of us.”

Although the connection between the two veteran coaches is new, there is a deep connection between the Flyers, the Philadelphia-area hockey community, and the Gaudreau family. While Johnny never donned orange and black at the NHL level, Matthew played with the Flyers’ ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals. But that is a singular thread of a spool that binds the two.

Johnny and Matthew grew up playing and learning hockey about 10 miles south of the Flyers Training Center under the watchful eye of their proud father. The boys skated for the Little Flyers and later at Gloucester Catholic, where Matthew also coached. Together, the three Gaudreaus helped put South Jersey on the hockey map.

“For as long as I’ve known [Johnny], I didn’t even know how far he reached so many people with so many levels, especially his kindness,” said Lisa Gentile of Pedricktown, Salem County, whose son Chris played youth hockey with the NHL star.

“After his passing, seeing all the people that he touched, how many things he did that I didn’t even know that he did, how many children he made happy, and organizations that he supported. He was a friend to everybody,” she added while wearing a sweatshirt with his famous “Johnny Hockey” nickname and No. 13.

“And I’ve got to tell you one thing that I remember about Johnny, that I’ll never forget. That kid never [didn’t have] a smile on his face. He always smiled. He was nice to everybody. He was patient and kind to everybody he met and he was a really amazing human being.”

Lisa Gentile felt a need to be at the game Saturday night against the Blue Jackets, the last team Johnny Gaudreau played for. It was the same for Larry Bracaliello and Dean Fisher of Vineland, each wearing Johnny Gaudreau Columbus jerseys. All three knew the family well.

“We had this on the calendar since we knew. ... We usually come every year anyway, when Columbus comes in just to watch Johnny,” Fisher said of the Blue Jackets’ only visit to Philly this season. “We’d meet up with Guy and the family at Xfinity [Live!], and we’d all come over here. It’s still tough. But we had this one scheduled for a long time.”

Fisher and Bracaliello played hockey with Guy Gaudreau for years at Hollydell and they were part of Johnny’s foursome at the Johnny Gaudreau Scholarship Golf Tournament in July. The tournament, in its eighth year, raises money for scholarships and tuition assistance to help underprivileged students attend Gloucester Catholic.

“It’s emotional because of what happened, and that’s why we’re wearing the jerseys,” said Bracaliello about being at the game, adding that they have the jerseys because they won the golf tournament alongside Johnny.

They were not the only ones sporting Columbus jerseys. Dotted among the orange and black of the Flyers on Saturday night were Flames red and more Columbus blue. Johnny Gaudreau played 763 NHL games between the two organizations and was a seven-time All-Star, six of which came while representing the Flames.

But on this night, remembering Johnny and Matthew was about what the brothers, who grew up Flyers fans, meant to the Philadelphia and South Jersey hockey communities.

Before the Gaudreau family came out to drop the ceremonial puck, the Flyers players entered the Wells Fargo Center in Gloucester Catholic jerseys. Some had J. Gaudreau and the number 13. Others had M. Gaudreau and the number 21.

Gloucester Catholic hockey players wore similar jerseys as they stood along the blue line with the Flyers starting lineup for the national anthem. And as the family walked out to center ice, they passed those high school hockey players with Guy giving out fist bumps as he held his grandson, Johnny.

Guy wore one of Matthew’s jerseys with the No. 21 on the back. His wife, Jane, was wearing a Little Flyers jersey with the No. 11; their sister Katie had on a Team Comcast jersey with the No. 3; and her older sister Kristen had on a No. 11 Gloucester Catholic jersey. Johnny’s wife Meredith also came out holding Noa, who was in a Blue Jackets jersey with the No. 13 and the nameplate Daddy on the back.

Guy Gaudreau dropped the puck between Scott Laughton and Sean Monahan, one of Johnny’s best friends, who played with him for years in Calgary and signed with Columbus this offseason.

“Emotional in the building with the family being from the area,” the Flyers’ Morgan Frost said. “It was special to have them here.”

And as the family left the ice, “Johnny Hockey” rained down from the fans. It was fitting for a player who grew up dreaming of wearing orange and black.