[PICS] Johnny Gaudreau and his ex-CBJ teammate's daughters Noa and Zoey dress us as adorable princesses in joint birthday bash

Over the weekend, the families of the late Johnny Gaudreau and his former teammate, Columbus Blue Jackets alternate captain, Erik Gudbranson came together for a sweet celebration as their daughters Noa and Zoey marked their third birthdays in a joint bash.

On Sunday, Meredith Gaudreau and Sarah Gudbranson shared Instagram stories capturing a fairytale and ice-cream themed celebration for their daughters who turned three. One of the stories showed Zoey dressed as Snow White peeking into a display at “Zoey’s Enchanted Boutique.”

Another clip showed both birthday girls sitting side by side at a table decorating cakes with colorful sprinkles and frosting.

“The best day celebrating the ice cream princesses,” Sarah wrote in one of the stories followed by a white heart emoji.

In another moment, Noa was seen carefully pouring toppings over a cup of ice cream at a stand playfully labeled “Ice Cream by Noa Girl.” One of the stories featured the girls and their friends enjoying birthday cakes, while another saw them running a soft-serve ice cream shop. Noa was seen lounging on a pink settee decorated with boas and a toy telephone in one adorable story.

Blue Jackets paid special tribute to Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau on their first death anniversary

Earlier last month, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHL came together to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau on the first anniversary of their passing. The Gaudreau brothers tragically died on August 29 last year in New Jersey after being struck by an alleged drunk driver while biking.

To mark the somber occasion, both the League and the Blue Jackets made donations to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation which was launched in March. Each organization contributed $13,000 to honor Johnny’s No. 13 along with $21,000 in recognition of Matthew’s No. 21.

The NHL announced the initiative on X writing that the donations would support the foundation’s mission of helping youth hockey families.

"On the one year anniversary of the passing of John and Matthew Gaudreau, the NHL and Columbus Blue Jackets are donating to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation to support its mission of supporting youth hockey families."

Johnny Gaudreau played 11 NHL seasons, nine with the Calgary Flames before joining Columbus. He was preparing for his third season with the Blue Jackets before the accident cut his career short.

The John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation is managed by their widows, Meredith and Madeline.The foundation has already received widespread support. This summer, NHL players Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Zach Werenski asked wedding guests to donate to the cause instead of giving gifts to help the fundraising efforts.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno