Gaudreau will be remembered as a small forward who left a huge legacy

His coach — Jim Montgomery, then of Dubuque of the United State Hockey League, now of the Boston Bruins — told the Calgary Herald after the draft that it was “a gutsy pick.” Gaudreau told the newspaper that his team allowed fans to watch the trials last year.

“My mom was sitting in the stands behind these two old men who thought they knew a lot about hockey,” Gaudreau said at the time. “They said, ‘Ah, look at that kid! You will never succeed! And mom was so upset.”

Even last season, his 11th in the NHL, Gaudreau, a grown man, was also 5-9, 163. Of the 1,022 players who appeared in the league, only 15 were shorter. Only five were lighter.

Yet look at what he accomplished and how he accomplished it — with intelligence, with vision, with creativity, with joy.

Gaudreau was the USHL Rookie of the Year and helped Dubuque win the Clark Cup in 2010-11. The following season, he led NCAA freshmen with 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 44 games, was the Beanpot Tournament Most Valuable Player and helped Boston College win a national title.

Check out the goal he scored late in the third period of a 4-1 win over Ferris State in the title game: With a defender on his back in the neutral zone, he hit the puck to the stick, crossed the blue line , turned a defender on his back and put the puck into the net.