South Jersey's Johnny Gaudreau is NHL's first star of the week

Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau, who grew up in South Jersey and attended Gloucester Catholic High, was named the NHL's first star of the week Monday.

A fourth-round selection (104th overall) in the 2011 draft, Gaudreau led the NHL with five goals and shared the league lead with a plus-5 rating in two games last week. He opened the week by recording a natural hat trick, his first career three-goal game, in a 4-3 comeback victory over Los Angeles on Dec. 22.

Gaudreau, 21, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound left winger, added a pair of goals 16 seconds apart in a 4-1 triumph Saturday over Edmonton.

Entering Monday, Gaudreau was second among NHL rookies in goals (12), assists (17), and points (29). He made his NHL debut April 13 in Vancouver, scoring his first goal on his first shot. - Sam Carchidi