Wish Come True: Capitals Host 12-Year-Old at Practice and Game

As the Washington Capitals granted 12-year-old Liam Reigel's wish, the two-day experience proved to be just as meaningful for the team as it was for the young fan and his family.

After being diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in Dec. 2022 and having watched the Capitals throughout his childhood, Liam wished to skate with the team and meet Lars Eller.
He first became a fan of Eller after a family friend sent Liam a Cameo message from Eller while he was in the hospital. In the ICU, Liam watched the video countless times and would often share it with visitors.
Following being discharged from the hospital earlier this year, Liam attended one of the Capitals' practices and brought with him a sign thanking Eller for the video message. Eller noticed the sign and high fived Liam through the glass before giving him an autographed stick after practice.
From that moment moving forward, there was no doubt who Liam's favorite player was.
"He gave me words of encouragement while I was in the hospital," said Liam. "He also gave me something that I'll never forget when I went to the practice in December with a signed stick, and he's just been a massive motivator through all this."
Nearly two months later, through the assistance of Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Liam was invited to attend the Capitals' practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Feb. 20.
Prior to practice that day, Eller brought Liam into the locker room, introduced him to the team, presented him with an autographed jersey, and told him that he would get to join the team on the bench for warm-ups during their game the next day against the Detroit Red Wings.

"It was awesome having [Liam] in the room," said Peter Laviolette. "Lars brought him and did a great job just introducing him and getting him comfortable around the guys."
As practice took place, Liam was glued to the glass, taking in and commenting on every bit of action. The only thing that could break his laser-like focus was a tap on the shoulder from Capitals TV play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati.
Within seconds, they were deep in a conversation that spanned the Capitals, hockey, broadcasting, and much more. Beninati shared tips of the trade with Liam, who hung on every word, asking questions and sharing his thoughts.
Once practice was over, it was time for him to get out there and show everyone his skills. As Liam prepared to take the ice, Beninati jokingly instructed him to pick a fight with Tom Wilson or Garnet Hathaway on his first shift to establish his presence.
Liam quickly responded, "That's not in my best interest."
It did not matter, though, because he had already earned the entire team's respect.

"What Liam's dealing with, no kid should ever have to deal with," said Nic Dowd. "I think it's amazing what he does with a smile on his face. He gives us a lot of motivation and makes us realize how lucky we are to get to do what we do every day, like his wish is to come out and do our job."
Throughout his treatment process, Liam has never stopped fighting or inspiring those around him.
"If he can be as tough as he is, it's easy to be tough," said Bill Reigel, Liam's dad. "He's 12, and he's the toughest guy I know."
Bill added, "To see him out on the ice after what we've been through, it's hard to put into words. To be able to have him smile on the ice with the guys who are so supportive, it's just absolutely amazing."
Capitals players were more than happy to welcome Liam with open arms and provide him with a day of carefree fun.
"It's not really fair what some of these kids have to go through, and Liam's pretty courageous," said Wilson. "For him to just come out and be able to enjoy being a kid for a day is what it's all about."
The team greeted Liam with stick taps as he joined them for some drills. His first task was a tall one: score a shootout goal on Darcy Kuemper. But as he always does, Liam rose to the occasion and was able to beat Kuemper to the near post.
The team went crazy and immediately rushed to celebrate with Liam, as if he had just scored a game-winning goal in the playoffs.
"They were very supportive and kind of gave me enough motivation to try and score on him because he's a big dude and a very good goalie," said Liam.

After tucking away his first career goal, Liam passed the puck around with Eller, Wilson, and Nicklas Backstrom before doing shooting drills with Dowd and Hathaway.
"Honestly, it was a dream come true," he said. "Just to skate with the guys I've been watching for six years and get to know them, it was great."
Liam added, "Taking some time off and just clearing my mind from everything else, it was good to just cut loose and have some fun."
Just as the day meant so much to Liam, Capitals players shared similar feelings.
"It's a little bit emotional," said Eller. "I have a daughter almost his age, so it's sad, but it's also rewarding and puts things in perspective to see him come in here with a big smile on his face."
Dowd added, "Having two kids myself, obviously a lot of us have kids, we understand, and we're just really happy that we could create a little memory in his life."
Fortunately for Liam and the Capitals, there was still gameday to create more priceless memories, and Laviolette had a special surprise up his sleeve.
After practice, he called Liam into his office and let him know that he would be reading the team's starting lineup the next day.
With his goal scored on Kuemper having been spread all around social media, it was only right that Liam showed up to Capital One Arena in a limousine.
There, he and his family checked out the press box, interview room, and broadcast trucks. When it was time for warm-ups, Liam had a front-row seat on the bench, where Capitals players regularly dropped by to say hello.

"These guys are fighting for a playoff spot, and Laviolette and the players still took the time to come talk to him," said Bill. "They're regular guys. We could've been outside just having a barbecue, but no, these are professional athletes fighting for playoffs. To be able to do that, it shows they're quality human beings."
Along with plenty of fist bumps, Liam was also given a few pucks by players. Before heading down the tunnel upon the conclusion of warm-ups, he heard a group of fans asking for a puck, so Liam flipped them one.
Demonstrating his selfless nature and caring personality, when asked about his favorite part from the bench experience, Liam said it was giving a puck to a fan.
Next on the agenda was reading the team's starting lineup in the locker room. After nailing it, Liam shared some words of wisdom that fired the team up: "Tonight, it's a team game, and we play like one."

As the players went to take the ice for gametime, they all made sure to fist bump Liam on the way out. He then went to his seat to watch the game with the rest of his family.
During the second period, Liam headed back up to the press box to check out the NBC Sports Washington booth and see his new friend from the day before in action.
Liam stood between Beninati and Craig Laughlin, listening in as they called the game. Having grown up listening to the duo on TV, it was a surreal experience to see the magic happen up close and personal.
Once the game ended, Liam and his family met with Eller in the locker room one last time before leaving. There, Eller surprised him with an autographed stick, along with his special nameplate from that night and the Stadium Series.

"It's something that I will cherish throughout the rest of my life," said Liam. "It's just so great getting to know him and knowing that I know him."
On what he thought the night meant to his son, Bill said, "I think it's a bright spot. I think he's going to be looking back at this moment over and over again."
Samantha Green, Liam's mom, added, "Your kid is beaming from ear to ear. It's just awesome, and some of the sadness that you've been feeling for your kid vanishes."
For Eller, the interaction was just as impactful.
"We did something I think he'll remember and take with him forever and probably his parents too," said Eller. "What's that worth? It's worth so much."
Liam's two-day experience with the team is best summarized by his 14-year-old sibling, Jupiter.
"I couldn't possibly ask for a stronger person to call family," said Jupiter. "Being here in this place with the Capitals, who I know he's looked up to almost his entire life, it just means so much to me as a sibling. Even though I'm obviously not experiencing it as he is, that's my brother. He's living his dream, and it just makes me so happy. I just want to say thank you to the Caps for being so welcoming and comforting to him and making him feel like one of the guys. I've never seen him so at home."