Katie Gaudreau Names Her Firstborn After the Brother She Lost the Night Before Her Wedding

The Gaudreau family has a new reason to celebrate, and with it, a poignant reminder of the loved ones who are no longer here to share in the joy. Katie Gaudreau, the younger sister of late NHL stars Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, announced on Tuesday that she and her husband Devin Joyce have welcomed their first child into the world.

The baby boy, born on Saturday, June 20, arrived weighing 7 lbs 10 oz. But it was the name Katie and Devin chose for their son that carried the deepest emotional weight: Matthew Guy Joyce, a direct tribute to Katie's late brother Matthew, who was killed alongside Johnny in a tragic accident in August 2024.

"He's here," Katie wrote in her Instagram post, sharing the first photos of her newborn. "The moment our hearts grew bigger than we ever imagined. Welcome to the world, sweet boy."

A Family Rebuilding Through Love and Loss

The arrival of baby Matthew comes nearly two years after the devastating loss that shattered the Gaudreau family. On the evening before Katie and Devin's originally planned wedding on August 30, 2024, brothers Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while cycling. The two were set to serve as groomsmen the following day, and the wedding was canceled in the wake of the tragedy.

Katie and Devin, who had been high school sweethearts, eventually married in July 2025. At the time, Katie told PEOPLE that she and Devin believed Johnny and Matthew would have wanted them to embrace the celebration and the love surrounding them.

"John and Matty always celebrated the people they loved with their whole hearts, and they would want this day to be about celebrating the love I've found and the life Devin and I are building together," she said. She also reflected on how her brothers' love had not ended with their passing, but instead lived on in every milestone and moment of happiness in her life.

The couple announced their pregnancy in late February, sharing a heartwarming Instagram video in which they revealed matching hats reading "Dad" and "Mom" alongside a sonogram and tiny baby sneakers. The post drew an outpouring of love from family members, including Katie's mother Jane, who commented that "Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop" could not wait to meet the baby. Matthew's widow, Madeline, also chimed in with excitement.

A Growing Generation Carries the Gaudreau Legacy Forward

Baby Matthew Guy Joyce joins a growing circle of little ones who represent the next chapter for the Gaudreau family. In December 2024, just months after losing her husband, Madeline Gaudreau welcomed her first child, a son named Tripp Matthew. She later shared that she felt Matthew's presence with her throughout the experience.

Then in April 2025, Johnny's wife Meredith gave birth to the couple's third child, a boy named Carter Michael. Meredith, who also has daughter Noa Harper and son Johnny Edward with the late hockey star, marked the occasion with a touching Instagram post promising to give her son "the best life."

Meredith has continued to honor Johnny publicly, penning an emotional Father's Day essay in June 2025 in which she called him "the best spouse" and "my life partner forever," thanking him for making their family and for being her best friend.

With the birth of Matthew Guy Joyce, the Gaudreau family continues to find ways to honor the two brothers whose lives were cut short, weaving their memory into the names and stories of a new generation that will carry their legacy forward.