Johnny Gaudreau's junior number to be retired by USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints

Johnny Gaudreau's jersey number will be retired by his junior team at a ceremony this weekend honoring him and his late brother, Matthew.

The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League will raise Gaudreau's No. 8 to the rafters on Saturday with the brothers' parents, Guy and Jane, sisters Katie and Kristen, and Johnny's widow, Meredith, scheduled to be in attendance at the arena in eastern Iowa.

"It was an honour befitting of his contribution to the organization and also obviously the sad circumstances that happened," Fighting Saints part owner Peter Luukko told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "He was one of the better players in the history of the team."

Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau died Aug. 29 when they were struck by an SUV while riding bicycles on a rural New Jersey road near their hometown of Carneys Point. The driver charged with killing them pleaded not guilty earlier this week after turning down a prosecution offer of 35 years in prison.

Gaudreau's No. 8 — not the No. 13 he is better known for wearing while playing at Boston College, in the NHL with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets and internationally while representing the U.S. — will be the first retired in franchise history. Gaudreau was Dubuque's leading scorer the season he played there (2010-11) and led it to winning the Clark Cup as USHL champions.

"When we were assembling the team that first year, we looked for players with a high hockey IQ and compete level who came from good families," said Jim Montgomery, who coached three seasons in Dubuque before moving on to the University of Denver and the NHL's Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and now the St. Louis Blues. "Johnny was the epitome of those qualities. He was a