introduction [Music] John Michael badro was an american professional ice hockey Winger who enjoyed an 11 season career in the National Hockey League NHL at the time of his passing reports state that his net worth was around $10 million though he had just signed a $69 million contract with the Blue Jackets he played college hockey for the Boston College Eagles from 2011 to 2014 and was drafted by the flames in the fourth round 104th overall of the 2011 NHL entry draft known as Johnny hockey Gad won the Hobie Baker award in 2014 recognizing him as the top player in NCAA hockey during his first full NHL season in 2014 to5 he was selected for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game and named to the 2014 NHL all rookie team the draw was also a cder memorial trophy finalist for best rookie and won the lady Bing Memorial trophy as the NHL's most gentlemanly player for the 2016 to 17 season in 2022 he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he played for two seasons before his untimely death early life John Gad was born on Early Life August 13th 1993 in Salem New Jersey to guy Gad a former Canadian Football League player and college hockey player High School coach and Jane gdo who is of mixed Italian and Irish descent he he grew up in Carney Point Township New Jersey alongside his two sisters and his younger brother Matthew gdo who played in the ECHL and AHL for teams like the Bridgeport sound tigers and Worcester railers as a child Gad participated in Penn's Grove Little League baseball and played in the 2006 Quebec international peeee hockey tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Hartford Connecticut he attended gler Catholic High School in Gloucester City New Jersey across the Delaware River from Philadelphia before graduating from debuk Senior High School in debuk Iowa personal life John GD Personal Life married his wife Meredith in September 2021 they had two children together a daughter born in 2022 and a son born in February 2024 the dr's younger brother Matthew was also a professional hockey player Matthew played for the reading Royals in the ECHL and previously for the Bridgeport sound tigers in the American Hockey League AHL and their ECHL affiliate the Wester railers the Gad brothers played together at Boston College during the 2013 to 14 season their parents guy and Jane gdo have deep roots in hockey guy a native of BB playe Vermont played college hockey at Norwich and high school hockey at North Country Union High School he was inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame and later coached hockey at Gloucester Catholic in Southern New Jersey for 11 years in January 2015 John GD filed a trademark application for the nicknam Johnny hockey in both Canada and the US to prevent others from using it for commercial purposes professional career Professional Career during the 2010 to1 season John gdo played for the debuk Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League USHL he was selected for the 2011 USHL All-Star Game and helped his team win the Clark Cup as League champions the dr's exceptional performance earned him spots on the USHL all rookie team and the all USHL second team and he was named the USHL Rookie of the Year in the 2011 NHL entry draft gadr was chosen by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round 104th overall standing at 5' 6 in 1.68 M he was one of the shortest players selected NCAA career after attending the Calgary Flames training camp for the 2011 to 12 season cadro began his NCAA career with the Boston College Eagles in the hockey East Conference although initially signed a letter of intent with nor Eastern University he switched to Boston College when nor Eastern's head coach Greg Cronin resigned to join the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs as a freshman at Boston College GD scored 21 goals and 23 assists 44 points and 44 games leading all freshman in scoring he played a key role in Boston College's National Championship Victory scoring a memorable goal in the final against Ferris State University he was named the most valuable player of the hockey East championship tournament he also helped the Eagles win the bean poot tournament for the third consecutive year earning Bean poot MVP honors in his sophomore year Gad continued to excel posting 21 goals and 30 assists 51 points in 35 games he led the nation in points per game with a 1.46 average and contributed to a fourth straight ban poot Championship while winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2013 World Juniors despite losses in the hockey East tournament semi-finals and the NCAA first round he was named Hockey East Player of the Year and a first team All-American he was a finalist for the 2013 Hobie Baker award though St Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc took home the honor the drw chose to stay at Boston College for his junior year partly to play alongside his younger brother Matthew who joined the team that fall the dr's decision proved beneficial as he dominated NCAA scoring with 36 goals and 44 assists 80 points and 40 games the highest production since 2003 he and his linemates Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes formed the most prolific line in Collegiate hockey producing 114 points together the Dr Tai Paul Korea's Hockey East record for consecutive scoring games with 31 amassing 29 goals and 61 points during that streak he was named the hockey East player of the year and the league scoring champion for the second consecutive season and earned a unanimous first team All-Star selection he was a top 10 finalist for the Hobie Baker award on March 20th and a top three finalist for the second straight year on April 2nd despite a frozen four loss to Union College on April 11th 2014 Gad was honored as the 2014 Hobie Baker Award winner recognizing him as the ncaa's top ice hockey player Calgary Flames the dro entered the NHL on the day he won the Hobie Baker award on April 11th 2014 shortly after the award ceremony he and Boston College teammate Bill Arnold signed entry-level contracts with the calvary Flames both made their NHL debuts in the Flames final game of the 2013 to4 season against the Vancouver Canucks with GD scoring the team's only goal on his first shot of his professional career John gdo entered the NHL on the same day he was honored with the Hobie Baker award on April 11th 2014 shortly after receiving the award Gad and his Boston College teammate Bill Arnold signed entry-level contracts with the Calgary Flames both players made their NHL debuts in the Flames final game of the 2013 to4 season against the Vancouver Canucks with Gad scoring the team's only goal on his first shot in his inaugural game NHL career as the 2014 to5 season began cadro earned a spot on the Flames roster although he started slowly and did not register a point until his sixth game he quickly found his stride totaling 12 goals and 30 points in his first 37 games on December 22nd 2014 he scored his first career NHL hattrick against Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings becoming the youngest Flames player to achieve this feat since Joe yend in the 1987 to 88 season the drw was selected to play in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus Ohio on January 25th 2015 he participated in the skills competition where he and yakub vorachek Drew attention for their playful shootout challenge which went viral originally named to the skills competition rookie team Gad was promoted to the all-star game itself as a replacement for injured Sydney Crosby playing for teen Taz Gad recorded two assists both on goals by Philip forsberg of the Nashville Predators on March 11th 2015 Gad reached his 50th point of the Season becoming the first Flames rookie to do so since Jerome MCA in the 1996 to 97 season he finished the season tied with Mark Stone of the Ottawa Senators for the rookie scoring lead with 24 goals and 40 assists although he was a Calder Memorial trophy finalist the award went to Aaron egg blad of the Florida Panthers with Gad finishing third he was named to the NHL all rookie team for the 2014 to5 season the 2015 to6 season was a standout year for gdo as he set career highs in goals assists and points finishing tied for sixth in the league in total points he was was named an NHL All-Star for the second consecutive year and was a finalist for the All-Star game MVP though the honor went to enforcer John Scott despite high expectations following their successful 2014 to5 season the Flames finished 26th in the NHL and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years in October 2016 Gad signed a six-year $44.5 million contract just before the season opener after missing training camp due to a contract dispute on November 16th 2016 he suffered a finger fracture against the Minnesota Wild and had surgery the next day despite initial predictions of a six-week recovery he returned after 10 games and finished the season with 18 goals and 43 assists for 61 points leading the flames and scoring however the Flames were swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs with Gad failing to score the 2017 to 18 season sadro achieved a career-high 84 points but the flames missed the playoffs the 2018 to9 season was his most successful as he set personal bests with 36 goals3 assists and 99 points finishing tied for seventh in the league the Flames won the Pacific Division and with a western conference's top seed the drove finished fourth in heart Trophy voting however the Flames were upset by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs with Gad contributing only one assist in the series The 2019 20 season was challenging for gdo who experienced a dip in performance with career lows of 18 goals and 40 assists the co9 pandemic led to a suspension of the regular season and the Flames played in a qualifying round against the Winnipeg Jets the Dr scored his first playoff goal since 2015 in the series but the Flames were defeated by the Dallas Stars in the first round for the 2020 to 21 season the NHL realigned its divisions and Gad adjusted to a new coaching style under darl Sutter despite a slow start and a challenging mid-season adjustment GD finished leading the Flames with 19 goals and 30 assists though the team missed the playoffs falling short of the final wild card spot the 2021-22 season was a remarkable one for gdo and the Flames with Gad leading the league with 115 points and finishing second in art Ross Trophy voting he achieved personal Milestones including reaching 100 points and joining the exclusive Club of 340 goal scorers with linemates AI Lindholm and Matthew kachuk the Flames won the Pacific Division but lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the playoffs ending their run as his contract neared expiration gadr was a top unrestricted free agent on July 13th 2022 he signed a 7-year 68.2 five million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets choosing them over other offers for a fresh start despite a challenging first season with the Blue Jackets marked by injuries and poor team performance the drill led the team in scoring with 74 points and represented them at the 2023 All-Star Game tragic death on the evening of August 29th 2024 John gdo and his brother Matthew were tragically struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while cycling in oldman's Township New Jersey the incident occurred around 8:00 p.m. when a motorist attempting to pass other vehicles on a single Lane rural highway hit the brothers from behind police arrived at the scene at 8:19 p.m. to find both brothers deceased the driver Shan M Higgins was arrested for suspected drunk driving and charged with death by Auto he admitted to consuming five or six beers before driving and continued drinking while behind the wheel Higgins failed both a breathalyzer test and a field sobriety test administered by the police the brothers had been in town to attend their sister Katie's wedding which was scheduled for the following day the drw's death sent shock waves through the North American Sporting Community prompting tributes from various teams celebrities and organizations all 32 NHL teams issued statements and condolences came from athletes and other sports as well as from notable figures such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opposition leader Pierre Piva and New Jersey governors Phil Murphy and Chris Christie makeshift memorials were set up outside Nationwide Arena and the Scotia Bank sadome home Arenas of the Blue Jackets and Flames as well as at the Collision site thank you for watching for more content like this subscribe and click on Conclusion the Bell [Music] notification e e e for