NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver in New Jersey on Thursday night, the eve of their sister’s wedding, sparking an outpouring of grief that extended beyond the hockey world.

The Gaudreau brothers were struck from behind while riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, N.J., the night before their sister Katie’s wedding. The driver struck Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, as he tried to pass a pair of vehicles about a half hour after sunset, according to police, who also said the driver failed a field sobriety test.

Sean M. Higgins, 43, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and drinking alcohol in a vehicle. He told police he had had five or six beers before the incident and said he had been drinking alcohol while driving, the Associated Press reported.

The Gaudreau brothers, who were to serve as groomsmen at the wedding, were pronounced dead at the scene. Johnny Gaudreau is survived by his wife Meredith and two young children, while Matthew is survived by his wife Madeline, who is expecting their first child.

“Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers … two brothers-in-law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends, but truly two wonderful people,” the brothers’ uncle, Jim Gaudreau, said in a statement. “We want everyone to know that we receive your messages of love and support and we appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers. We ask for your continued respect and privacy during this very difficult time of grief.”

Fond memories of the two hockey siblings poured in from all corners of the hockey world. Perhaps less expected, condolences also came from famous athletes in other sports, superstars who rarely, if ever, maintained their skates.

The fact that greats like basketball player LeBron James and baseball player Mike Trout also took to social media to remember the Columbus Blue Jackets forward – known as Johnny Hockey for his skill and selflessness on and off the ice – and his brother speaks volumes about their ability to influence others.

Los Angeles Lakers star Mr. James, an Ohio native, offered “thoughts and prayers,” while Mr. Trout, who like the Gaudreaus is from New Jersey, said he was “devastated.” The Los Angeles Angels star also sent “condolences and love” to the Gaudreau family. Some fans laid flowers outside the Blue Jackets’ home rink in Columbus, while a moment of silence was held in Cincinnati before a Major League Baseball game between the Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. Flowers and tributes were also laid outside the rink in Calgary, where Johnny Gaudreau played eight of his 10 full NHL seasons with the Flames.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said “he was more than just a stunning hockey player,” while Hockey Hall of Famer Hayley Wickenheiser summed it up succinctly with a broken heart emoji and the message: “Every day is a gift.”

Johnny Gaudreau had an infectious joy in playing the sport he loved, friends and colleagues said, whether it was playing alongside his brother Matthew — as he did for a season at Boston College — or alongside the best players in the world.

While Matthew pursued a career spent primarily in the minor leagues, Johnny was well known to hockey fans, particularly in southern Alberta. Despite playing the past two seasons in Columbus—after a free-agency decision to be closer to his hometown of Carneys Point, NJ—he left an indelible impression with the Flames.

Mr. Gaudreau, who is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill when being small was less of a disadvantage. A winner of the Lady Byng Trophy in 2017 for sportsmanship and courtesy coupled with a high level of play, he scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as the first NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists. He averaged nearly a point a game and was fifth on the Flames’ career points list with 609 points in 602 games.

Outside of the NHL, Mr. Gaudreau has also made his mark on international hockey, leading the United States to gold at the 2013 World Junior Championships and setting U.S. men’s world championship records with 30 assists and 43 points.

Drafted 104th overall in the 2011 draft, Mr. Gaudreau made his NHL debut three years later, coincidentally on the same day he received the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in American college hockey. He scored on his first shot as a professional – against future Flames teammate Jacob Markstrom – in a 5-1 loss to Calgary to end the season.

But that was just the beginning. A spot on the NHL’s all-rookie team was the next step, followed by a series of all-star game appearances.

He added to his growing legend at Calgary’s Saddledome in the 2021-22 postseason, becoming just the third member of the Flames franchise — after Joel Otto and Martin Gélinas — to score a game-winning goal in overtime of Game 7, eliminating the Dallas Stars and setting up a highly anticipated Battle of Alberta playoff game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Mr. Gaudreau decided to move to start a family in the summer of 2022. Last February, the family expanded to four when he, his wife Meredith and daughter Noa welcomed the arrival of Johnny.

His role as a family man was the most important of the many emotional outbursts that Friday’s news prompted.

“The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy,” the Blue Jackets said in a statement. “Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but most importantly, a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.”

While the Flames shared these sentiments, former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi chose to focus on the impact Mr. Gaudreau had on the community during his time with the Flames.

“Johnny had a tremendous impact on the people of Calgary,” Mr. Nenshi said on social media. “Not only as an exceptionally skilled hockey player who proudly wore the Flames jersey for nine years, but also as a man with a huge heart who cared about this city.”

Jay Feaster, the Calgary Flames general manager who drafted Gaudreau, and Brad Treliving, another former Flames GM, both mentioned his “infectious smile” in their statements about the tragedy. Another former Calgary GM, Brian Burke, also discussed the player’s attachment to his sport.

“Few players in hockey history matched his passion and love for the game of hockey,” Mr. Burke’s statement said. “His talent on the ice was enhanced, not diminished, by the fact that he enjoyed it.”

Mr. Gaudreau’s love affair with the sport is well-documented, from the time his father, Guy, put him on skates and laid out a line of Skittles on the ice to get his son interested in skating. His coach at Boston College, Jerry York, says Mr. Gaudreau and his brother will be sorely missed.

“Everyone knows how talented they were on the ice, especially Johnny – an all-world type of Olympian and college all-star,” Mr. York said in a statement. “They left a tremendous impression on all of us. We will miss the hockey performances they always had with us, but more importantly who they were as young boys.”