Elvis and Aleksandra Merzlikins honor Johnny Gaudreau with second son's middle name
Brian HedgerElvis and Aleksandra Merzlikins’ second son, Jaxon, already has something in common with his older brother, Knox.
Less than two weeks after joining the Merzlikins and Blue Jackets families prematurely, the new addition’s middle name, John, honors Johnny Gaudreau — the former Blue Jackets star who, tragically, was killed along with his brother, Matthew, while they biked last Aug. 29 in Salem County, New Jersey.
Knox, his 3-year old brother, has the middle name “Matiss” to honor former Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, who was killed July 4, 2021 in a fireworks tragedy at the home of former Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace. While heartbreaking reasons prompted each name, the idea was to keep the memories of both former players with the Merzlikins the rest of their lives.
“It was important to have him with us,” Elvis Merzlikins said of honoring Gaudreau. “Eventually, we are all going to go (back) to Switzerland and continue living our lives, and now there’re going to be something from Johnny with us, and I think it was a good idea.”
It’s not his only tribute to Gaudreau and Kivlenieks.
Merzlikins began this season with a mask that had Gaudreau’s No. 13 on the front chin plate, he puts both of their numbers, 13 and 80, on the back plate of new masks and his mask design for the Jackets’ first outdoor game March 1 at Ohio Stadium featured a sketch of Gaudreau shooting at puck at Kivelnieks on the back.
Merzlikins also walked right behind Gaudreau’s wife, Meredith, and mother, Jane, as they led the Blue Jackets out of the home tunnel at Ohio Stadium for the Jackets’ victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 NHL Stadium Series matchup — which drew an attendance of 94,751 that became the league’s second-largest crowd to ever watch a game live.
“Before we started going out, I think Meredith told me, ‘Go get it, Elvis,’” Merzlikins said. “It was really important for us, and it felt amazing (walking out). It was such a nice thing to have them there, walking us out. They are a big part of our family here, and they will always be.”
Merzlikins and his wife thought of the idea to give Jaxon – whom they call Jax – the middle name “John” while they sat in a hospital room hours after the delivery.
“We talked to Meredith and asked if that was cool,” Merzlikins said. “We thought it was a cool idea to do it, especially since Knox has Matiss. Jax can have John. He’s kind of our own, I want to say, guardian angel, you know? We just wanted to keep that legacy going. You never know. Maybe he’s going to be a hockey player or something, and he’s going to have something from Johnny.”
Jaxon Merzlikins needed to spend “a couple days” in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Nationwide Children’s hospital, but he’s been home for about a week and is doing well. In fact, he and Elvis spent Tuesday bonding.
“We call him Jax,” Merzlikins said. “I enjoyed my whole (off) day with him. You just put him on your chest and he’s sleeping on you, and there is not much to do. He is just eating. I’m not even changing diapers right now because I am still scared. I have two big hands to manage that, and he’s too tiny.”
Merzlikins said his new son was almost 21 inches long (53 centimeters) at birth and weighed 6.8 pounds despite arriving in Aleksandra’s 36th week of pregnancy. Following the outdoor game, a little more than two weeks earlier, Merzlikins said during the postgame press conference that he nearly had to miss the game due to signals their second child might arrive that weekend.
After his arrival March 16, a short NICU stint at Nationwide Children’s Hospital was required.
"He was there three or four days in the NICU," Merzlikins said. "They took amazing care of him. We were definitely grateful."
Since bringing the family's newest member home, the family of three — four counting beloved dog, Koby — has cherished their first time at home.
“As soon as (Jax) got to the house, Knox ran over to meet his brother and he wanted to see him, touch him, play with him,” Merzlikins said. “He’s 3-½, and he’s an amazing bigger brother. He has love in his eyes and he tries to help as much as he can.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social