Caleb Daniel, a 5-year-old boy who has had four different heart surgeries, was granted the opportunity he’s always dreamed of — he got to throw a catfish onto the ice before Game 5 of the NHL Conference Semifinals between the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets.
Where silly meets cool.
While waiting for a heart transplant at Vanderbilt’s Children, 5-year-old Caleb Daniel would throw a stuffed catfish on the hospital floor.
Tonight, he’s doing the real thing.
ICYMI, here’s @JLBliss’ touching story on Caleb: https://t.co/2F2IjfvInr pic.twitter.com/Pty98TqGyO
— Erik Bacharach (@ErikBacharach) May 6, 2018
On Friday, Daniel went to Little’s Fish Market and selected a 10-pound catfish that he ended up throwing on the ice.
Daniel grew up a Predators fan having watched games on his iPad with his parents in the hospital and immediately loved the catfish throwing tradition. (RELATED: Titans Offensive Line Chug Beers At Predators Game To Pump Crowd Up, And It Works).
Nurses at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital even made a catfish (named “Stanley”) out of a white towel with rubber band whiskers and a sharpie for Daniel, who would sit on the edge of his hospital bed and throw Stanley over the rails and on to the ground preparing himself for the moment.
Predators goalie Pekke Rinne and forward Mike Fisher visited the hospital one day saying hello to the young patients when they were introduced to Daniel, and their relationship and Daniel’s love of hockey bloomed from that moment on.
@BrandtSnedeker @SmashCatfish @PredsNHL #doitforcaleb pic.twitter.com/zexVV2Jm8a
— Ricky Scott (@Rscott1424) June 12, 2017