USA Hockey poses with Gaudreau jersey after World Junior Championship gold medal

The jersey has been there the whole time, and now it’s directly in the spotlight.

After Team USA earned the gold medal in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship on Sunday, the group posed with the trophy and a Johnny Gaudreau jersey, the same one that has been hanging up in their locker room for the duration of the tournament.

The gold medal game came down to overtime, when Teddy Stiga scored to push Team USA to it’s second-straight gold medal.

Last week, in a video posted by USA Hockey on social media, Team USA forward Ryan Leonard reflected on what it means to have Gaudreau’s jersey hanging up each day.

“He’s in our locker room right now with his jersey in his stall, so it’s awesome to really reflect on that,” Leonard said in the video. “And any time you look over to the corner of the locker room and see him, it puts a smile on my face. So, I know he’s going to have my back out there during the game.”

On Monday morning, Gaudreau’s wife Meredith showed her appreciation for the team honoring her late husband with a post on social media.

Gaudreau won a gold medal with the national team back in 2013, and also earned a silver medal representing Team USA in the 2010 Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament and a bronze medal in the 2018 IIHF World Championships.

Johnny and his brother Matthew, a former pro hockey player, died Aug. 29 when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver who has been charged with two counts of death by auto, while riding bicycles near their home in Salem County, New Jersey.