Years ago, living near Philadelphia and making it in professional ice hockey was a pipe dream.
Hockey was a sport dominated by Canadians and Europeans. In fact, the 1975 Stanley Cup-winning Philadelphia Flyers’ roster was 100-percent filled with Canadian natives. Americans who played here like Mark Howe, Jeremy Roenick and John LeClair started putting the United States on the map. And New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, a Flourtown native, certainly made his mark winning the Stanley Cup in 1994. But there was still a pretty big void of locally raised players.
This summer, the Philadelphia area lost three titans in that area. First, Northeast Philly was crushed by the news in July of the sudden passing of Tony Voce, an Archbishop Ryan grad who was a Boston College standout who later played for the Philadelphia Phantoms. Then, we took a double gut punch when news broke of the tragic deaths of brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau of South Jersey who were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while riding their bikes near their former home in Salem County. All three men gave hope to young hockey players in Philadelphia in different ways.
Voce was the guy among us. Roughly the same age as this columnist, Voce was the talk of the town as the internet was still forming. If he could do it, why can’t we?
At Boston College from 2000-2004, Voce appeared in 159 games and recorded 90 goals and 77 assists. He was a two-time Hockey East First Team All-Star, a First-Team All-American, on the New England All-Star Team, a Hobey Baker finalist and a national champion. Then, he became the first Philadelphia native to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers organization.
Although he never suited up for the Flyers, Voce was an integral part of the Phantoms team that won the Calder Cup in 2005. In parts of three seasons in Philly, he had 58 goals and 57 assists over 181 games. More important than any statistic or trophy, Voce proved a guy from Philly could make it.
Johnny Gaudreau took it a few steps further.
Although there were others from the area who appeared in an NHL game around the same time as Gaudreau, like Eric Tangradi of Archbishop Carroll High School or Moorestown resident TJ Brennan, Gaudreau took the hockey world by storm. He not only played in the NHL, he became one of the most adored players in the game, immortalized with the popular nickname “Johnny Hockey.”
Gaudreau was a seven-time All-Star who accumulated more than 700 points in 11 seasons for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets. Although small in size in contrast with the average player, Gaudreau found ways to dazzle NHL crowds with his playmaking ability the same way he and his brother Matt did at both Gloucester Catholic High School and Boston College, donning maroon and gold at both schools.
“He was incredible. He really was,” Gloucester Catholic principal Tom Iacovone said of Johnny Gaudreau. “What he accomplished at Gloucester Catholic, in college and in the NHL, it just goes without saying the kind of athlete and hockey player he was. But I can’t stress enough what kind of person he was. Matty was the same thing. He was an incredible hockey player in his own right. But also just a great person.”
Both were.
Johnny Gaudreau’s annual charity golf tournament raised between $50,000 and $75,000 a year for Gloucester Catholic scholarships. Matty followed his father Guy’s footsteps by becoming the head coach of a high school program at Gloucester Catholic that has churned out other NHLers like Eric and Buddy Robinson. After two years, Matty called Iacovone this year and regretfully told him that he needed to step down because his busy schedule just wouldn’t allow him to coach a third straight season. But he still wanted to help high schoolers better themselves and get to the next level.
Not long after the phone rang again.
“He took on the job three years ago when he had a lot going on in his personal life,” Iacovone said. “Even after resigning last year because he had a lot going on with himself, he calls me back and said he’d volunteer. He wanted to continue to help the program. He’s been pretty involved after his resignation to help the program.”
Voce, too, helped others realize the gift of hockey. He spent time coaching youth hockey at Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell and helped out with the Flyers Warriors team of U.S. Military Veterans with disabilities.
Voce and the Gaudreau brothers were all family men and they all helped grow the game of hockey in their own way in their own backyard. Philadelphia hockey was in a better place with the three of them thriving. Their absence will be felt much further.
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