A ghostly silhouette of Johnny Gaudreau skating on a hockey rink with a desert background, reminiscent of the Arizona Coyotes.
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Further immortalizing Johnny Gaudreau and the Arizona Coyotes

ByTC Marti

One year’s passed since Johnny Gaudreau was tragically killed. But his legacy is immortal not just in NHL history, but also in my books.

A short player who some thought had no business on NHL ice until he made opponents look silly? A prize free agent in 2022 who signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets and instantly became a hero?

There are a lot of reasons Johnny Gaudreau is one of my all-time favorite hockey players. No. 13 played far bigger than his size, and he was already one of the most respected players in hockey when he chose to play in Columbus, the capital of my home state.

While I’m not a Blue Jackets fan, I’m always hoping to see them ultimately make a playoff run. No, that won’t happen with Johnny on the ice, but when the Jackets break through, you can bet they’ll feel his presence.

And so many of his traits helped inspire my protagonist in my young adult libertarian fantasy, The Arcane Prophecy, Yote Diamondback.

Like Johnny, Yote:

  • Is one of the smallest players out there
  • Plays with grit and toughness
  • Pulls off highlight reel plays
  • Wears No. 13
  • Is fine with playing for a hard-luck team

The name ‘Yote’ came from the ‘Yotes

Shortly before I started writing the first draft of The Arcane Prophecy, the Arizona Coyotes announced they were moving to Salt Lake City. The inevitable, not the unthinkable, arrived, and it’s one reason I never threw all of my weight behind the Coyotes.

But it gave me a reason to recognize a team whose uniforms were one of the best in NHL history, even if they weren’t around very long. You couldn’t beat that kachina look, nor the eclectic color scheme.

Hell, even the howling coyote looked good. Ditto for the Desert Nights kit. Oh, let’s face it: the Coyotes never had a bad uniform in their wardrobe.

Plus, as an Arizona sports fan in the NFL and MLB, it’s not like I didn’t have a thing for the Coyotes. So, when I needed to name my protagonist, Yote was a perfect fit.

A strange name, but unforgettable.

Johnny Gaudreau and the Arizona Coyotes live on

Even if I never wrote The Arcane Prophecy, nobody’s forgetting Johnny Gaudreau and the Arizona Coyotes. Gaudreau was too electrifying and he’s one of the latest dynamic players erasing the fib that short guys can’t dominate on the ice.

As for the Yotes, fans will remember them like they do the old Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques. Like the Coyotes, neither one of those franchises were surviving in their respective markets, but their legacies are so iconic that the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche will occasionally bust out their uniforms.

Johnny and the Yotes are two legacy pieces that deserve to be remembered for decades. So why not further immortalize them in my fiction?

What’s that fiction all about?

As an undersized girl whose perfect mean girl of a sister overshadows her, it’s easy for Yote to get all hung up because of the way she’s pushed behind the eight ball.

But you know what? Yote’s a feisty little thing who isn’t about to concede when everyone, from her sister to mean girls at her middle school, stack the deck against her.

That’s the spirit Johnny Hockey embodied, it’s the spirit Yote embodies, and it’s the spirit I want readers to feel in my free novella and prequel to The Arcane Prophecy, Arcane Awakenings.

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