Flyers invite Guy Gaudreau, father of Johnny and Matthew, to practice

The Philadelphia Flyers had a very special guest at Monday's practice after head coach John Tortorella invited Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau's father, Guy, to take part in the training camp session.

"I called (him) and wanted to know if he wanted to come out," the bench boss said, according to The Hockey News' Siobhan Nolan. "It's pretty close to home as far as with his family and what's going on there. ... I never met Johnny and Matt in my travels as a coach, but (it's) a horrific situation."

Tortorella continued: "I figured it's perfect just to get (Guy) in with us. He was hesitant at first, and we kind of let him go at his timetable, and I think it worked out really well today. I gave him my camp book, and we're gonna check in next week and see if we can get him out here a couple more times."

Johnny and Matthew were struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver on Aug. 29 in their home state of New Jersey the night before their sister Katie's wedding. The funeral was held on Sept. 9 in suburban Philadelphia.

The Gaudreau family has deep ties to the City of Brotherly Love. Both Johnny and Matthew played for the Philadelphia Little Flyers growing up, while the latter also spent some time coaching the Philadelphia Rebels in the North American Hockey League.

Guy, meanwhile, has extensive coaching experience, including with the Philadelphia Flyers Elite under-14 triple-A program in 2021-22.

Tortorella figured it'd be "therapeutic" for Guy to run some drills with the Flyers, and defenseman Nick Seeler agreed with his coach.

"It's so tragic, and it just breaks your heart," he said. "To have Mr. Gaudreau out here ... hopefully, there's some sort of healing in that. If (being around the team) helps, then that's great. It'll be great to have him around and hopefully, we see some more of him."