"Think of someone in your life that maybe planted a seed in your mind, and you developed it. You watered it, and you did something very good with it. Johnny planted a seed in my mind. I watered it, and I’m spreading it out to the entire NHL.”
TODAY: "Team USA brings Johnny Gaudreau's kids to ice for Olympic moment": ESPN.com
Welcome to a new series, "Fields Full of Grace: The Faith at Play," casting a spotlight on the devotional practices of college and professional athletes and coaches on and off the field.
By Jay Sorgi
Ed Morris misses his son-in-law. The National Hockey League (NHL) misses “Johnny Hockey.”
But through one God-led brainstorm that the late Johnny Gaudreau and his father-in-law put into action, the entire NHL may someday feel his presence through the Virgin Mary, the Rosary, and seeds that Gaudreau and Morris have planted throughout the league through the simplicity of Rosary rings.
“Think of someone in your life that maybe planted a seed in your mind, and you developed it. You watered it, and you did something very good with it,” says Morris, a real estate executive and Catholic evangelist from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. He runs “Team Hope,” a prayer ministry of Catholic friendship.
“Johnny planted a seed in my mind. I watered it, and I’m spreading it out to the entire NHL.”
Tragedy strikes
Often, such seeds of new life come through the hardest of pain.
A star player at Boston College, Johnny Gaudreau turned pro and played eight years as a left wing with the Calgary Flames, and two years with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was a seven-time NHL All-Star, and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's “most gentlemanly player.” Johnny was an inspiration for fellow hockey players who were, like him, smaller in stature than most (he was 5 feet 9 inches).
His promising NHL career came to a tragic halt, two weeks after his 31st birthday.
On Aug. 29, 2024, Johnny and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed while riding their bicycles. A drunk driver struck them in Salem County, New Jersey (where they grew up), on the day before their sister’s wedding.
Johnny’s wife, Meredith, was carrying their third child, Carter, at the time. Morris now helps Meredith take care of Carter, born on April 1, 2025, along with Johnny and Meredith’s daughter Noa and son Johnny, Jr.
Team Hope
Morris has run Team Hope, a ministry of Catholic friendship that builds prayer and personal support networks among individuals throughout Philadelphia and South Jersey, for many years. He has spoken at numerous “Man Up” men’s Catholic ministry conferences throughout the region.
It’s not hard for Morris to plant seeds of God’s love in others’ lives, just as he did when gave his son-in-law a Rosary ring, blessed by Pope Francis.
“I didn't know what he would think of that. Did he think his father-in-law was goofy? I don't know. But I gave it to him, and he took off for Calgary for his ninth season.”
While in Calgary during the season, Johnny sent his father-in-law a picture of the Rosary ring on his red Calgary Flames athletic bag (above).
“How happy was I? This is my daughter's husband. He had faith. He planted a seed in my mind. I knew who he was now, a young man of faith. I was so happy. He planted a seed with me.”
Rosary rings
When Johnny was killed, numerous teammates from the Flames and Blue Jackets joined other friends in mourning his loss.
“Eleven of John's friends were there at the funeral,” Morris recalls. “They are crying. They don't know what to say. I walked up to them and said, ‘Thank you for being here. Can I tell you about your great friend, John?’
“I showed them the picture of the Rosary ring on his Calgary bag. They're like, ‘Wow. I didn't know about that. I didn't know he had that kind of faith.’”
Morris gave one of the Pope Francis-blessed Rosary rings to Matthew Tkachuk, now with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
What picture soon comes Morris’ way? That exact Rosary ring, gently located on top of a Florida Panthers bag.
Morris told the same story to Boone Jenner, the captain of the Blue Jackets, and Andrew Mangiapane of the Edmonton Oilers, who played with Johnny in Calgary and was a pallbearer at his funeral. Both gladly accepted Rosary rings, and sent in photos.
To date, Rosary rings blessed by Pope Francis have now found themselves within nine NHL locker rooms, which means the story of the Rosary has now reached more than a quarter of the NHL due to the vision of Johnny Gaudreau and Ed Morris.
Only the beginning
“Can you imagine if we get all 32 NHL teams?: A Pope-blessed Rosary on all 32 teams?” Morris says. “That's gold, and the NHL can be known as the most faith-filled professional sports league in the world.”
He is brimming with confidence, and the NHL is just the beginning.
“I can do this for John. Why can't I take it to the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball? All I have to do is find one faith-filled person and get all the teams to do this.”
Morris is dedicating his life to seed-planting for Christ. His work has spanned from helping drug-addicted individuals find recovery to creating events and digital prayer circles helping thousands in the Philadelphia area. At a recent prayer service, Morris challenged about 700 others to do the same.
“Whatever you're good at, how can you deploy it? How can you be part of the rescue mission? How can you do exactly what He wants you to do? We’ve got to get to work,” he says.
“Take some initiative to do something good. Go plant a seed somewhere. Just go plant a seed. And let God take over from there.”
Johnny Gaudreau photo by mark6mauno/WikiCommons.
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