A former teammate has revealed his final conversation with Matthew Gaudreau following the former NHL star’s tragic death Thursday night.
Matthew and his brother Johnny were struck by a vehicle during a bike ride in New Jersey, resulting in the brothers’ deaths on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding.
After a 160-game professional hockey career, Matthew became a high school and youth hockey coach. He recently accepted a position as a skills coach with a youth team in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The new job would have allowed him to spend more time with his wife Madeline and their first child, who is expected to be born Dec. 31. His former teammate, Frankie DiChiara, also hoped to be close to Gaudreau.
“Matty and I were always in touch. He was one of my best friends,” DiChiara shared. “I was at his wedding and visited him at the Jersey Shore two summers ago.”
Matthew Gaudreau’s former teammate revealed their heartbreaking final conversation
Frankie DiChiara shared hotel rooms with Gaudreau when they played together in the ECHL
The two shared hotel rooms while traveling as members of the Worcester Railers and Reading Royals in the ECHL, two levels below the NHL.
DiChiara now coaches a Long Island-based PAL Islanders team that competes in the same league as the Wolves.
DiChiara also spoke with his former teammate a week before his tragic passing to “catch up and talk hockey.”
He noted how excited they were to reunite as coaches in the same league and praised Gaudreau’s growing family.
“He had been traveling a lot coaching youth over the past few years and was excited that this position would allow him to be closer to his wife and baby on the way,” DiChiara said.
DiChiara remembered Gaudreau as a tough competitor and a great teammate, stating that his best hockey days were still ahead of him despite not being on the ice.
Matthew and his brother Johnny were hit by a vehicle while riding their bikes in New Jersey
Matthew leaves behind his wife, Madeline, following her death on Thursday in New Jersey
A fundraiser dedicated to financially assisting Madeline and her family has raised more than $290,000.
A graphic shows the crash that killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Thursday night.
“Matty was a great hockey player, much like his brother on the ice; he was an excellent skater and could see the ice as well as anyone,” DiChiara said. “He scored over a point a game in the ECHL; he could have continued playing.”
“He had one of the highest hockey IQs I’ve ever been around,” DiChiarra said. “He was a great coach.”
Gaudreau served as head coach at Gloucester Catholic High School in New Jersey and as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Rebels, a youth program that developed NCAA and professional prospects in recent years.