3-year-old Alaskan boy with leukemia heads to Seattle for his hockey-related ‘wish’

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Ever since his 2024 diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, much of three-year-old Caleb Seidl’s life has been rooted in uncertainty.

“We’ve been through some really intense treatments,” Caleb’s father Reuben Seidl said. “It’s amazing, his resilience and his energy and just the fight that he’s shown, not even realizing that he’s been fighting, but just trying to be a kid and be himself.”

One way Caleb and his family have found to help him be himself has been embracing his love of hockey.

“As anyone that has a toddler knows, it’s hard to get them to sit on one idea or one want,” Reuben Seidl said. “But Caleb has always loved sports. He’s always loved watching hockey games even before his diagnosis.”

He’s joined a Alaska All-Stars Hockey Association team that’s usually meant for kids six and older. But it made an exception to accommodate the fast-learning Caleb.

“It’s a real privilege to get to support a kid like Caleb that’s out here fighting a battle you don’t wish on your worst enemies,” All-Stars coach Nic Cohen said. “The kid started off with a pusher and now he’s flying around out there having a blast every night.”

That’s why, when the Make-A-Wish Foundation approached the Seidl family with news that Caleb qualified for a wish, he made himself abundantly clear.

“He always landed on wanting to be a hockey team,” his dad remembered. “So we passed that on and we worked with the wish coordinators, and they were like, ‘Man, it’s pretty unusual for a three-year-old to want to be a hockey team.’ But it’s amazing. They’re making it work.”

All it took was slightly adjusting the syntax of Caleb’s wish – and enlisting the help of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken – to put a plan together.

“We got to meet [mascot] Buoy from the Kraken in June,” Reuben Seidl recalled. “And we got to meet John Hayden, who played with the Kraken last season.”

The second phase of that wish gets going Monday when the Seidl’s head to Seattle to watch the Kraken take on the Pittsburgh Penguins with a group of family and friends tagging along.

“The Kraken and Make-a-Wish were so blown away by the support,” Reuben Seidl said. “They ended up helping everybody find an amazing seat.”

Caleb will also get to participate in a Kraken practice the next day.

“Every single person we’ve talked to has just been incredibly generous, and kind, and supportive,” Reuben Seidl said. “Just making sure that the family, and Caleb especially, feel special.”

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