The National Hockey League, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the state of Ohio and perhaps most important of all the family of the late Johnny Gaudreau all came together on Saturday to help create a truly magical moment.

On Saturday, the Blue Jackets welcomed the Detroit Red Wings to Ohio where they would clash in an outdoor game as part of the NHL’s long standing Stadium Series tradition, and it would be prior to that game that the memory of the late Johnny Gaudreau would be honored in front of 90,000 adoring fans.

Just about every aspect of this game featured a tribute to Johnny Gaudreau with his number “13” appearing all over the place including on the equipment worn by players and even members of the coaching staffs on both sides of the ice. The most touching tribute however would be the one featuring Johnny Gaudreau’s family, including his mother Jane Gaudreau, his widow Meredith Gaudreau and his young son Johnny Jr.

The Gaudreau family would begin by escorting the Blue Jackets to the stadium itself, with both Jane and Meredith seemingly leading the charge as they marched towards their game against the Red Wings.

Here’s an angle of that march from 10TV’s Adam King:

And another from the NHLPA:

The best part however would come when that tribute to Johnny would continue in front of nearly 90,000 adoring fans in Ohio when Jane and Meredith continued their escort of the Blue Jackets, this time as they came down the tunnel for the game itself.

It made for quite the striking scene in such a massive venue, and it was of course a beautiful tribute to Johnny Gaudreau, a young man that was taken from the hockey community far too soon.