Bruins Making Hockey Dream Coming for the Young Fan

Bruins

“He hasn't had a smile on his face for so long. So it's nice to see happiness coming back.”

By Conor Ryan

March 19, 2025 | 13:55 hours

4 minutes to read

Caelan Rawson-Turner has always felt at home between the legs.

While most children have themselves in mind as Cale Makar or Connor McDavid when they first etched their skates in the frozen sheet, Rawson-Turner embraced the role of the last line of defense for his friends: a stable presence in crunch-time and a lead of amid in the grid of Pucks who is a bucks from Pucks's scratchers.

The Plaistow, New Hampshire Native, first went the ice on five-year-old-partnament to the learning-to-skate program with the Greater Haverhill Pentucket Youth Hockey program and eventually established a role as a goalkeeper for the HP Thunder U12 program.

In the middle of the chaos that usually flowed around him near the fold, Rawson-Turner kept a smile on his face under his goalkeeper mask.

The same smiles remained etched on the face of Rawson-Turner-even when his days have spent on Saturday evening in TD Garden unfortunately ending.

Rawson-Turner, 12, was one of the three children who was welcomed by De Bruins on Saturday evening as honorary guest-with the trio that signed official contracts with the original six franchise as part of a VIP experience in combination with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps to organize life-changing experiences and wishes for seriously ill children between the age of 2 1⁄2 and 18. Children participating in the Make-A-Wish program can choose their wish from different options with Rawson-Turner to be “brown” as part of his wish.

As part of the events of Saturday, Rawson-Turner-after colleague Make-A-Wish participants in the seven-year-old Graeme Beauregard (Jupiter, FL) and the 14-year-old Landan Marsh (Elmira, NY) -All signed contracts to join the Bruinsonyyysteyy and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Hockey and Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famy or Famony.

“They travel everywhere from Jupiter to Elmira – it's really what it's all about,” said Sweeney. “There is a smile on their faces and to get here and enjoy a game and experience like this, – you really have a hard time saying it in words, in all honesty. Because you enjoy your family and the short delay it could bring.

“Talking to them about who their favorite players are – it's so nice to be part of it and it brings me back when you play and in a situation like this – just knowing that they will meet the boys after the game. … it's a nice goal for everyone.”

For Caelan – who attended Saturday's game with his parents, Ryan and Shelly – who remain involved in the game of whom he loves, a priority remains in the midst of what has been difficult years.

In 2023, Rawson-Turner was diagnosed with panto sate-associed neurodegeneration (pkan)-a rare genetic disorder caused by a dysfunction in the metabolic process of co-enzyme-a, a critical connection that feds numerous cellular functions.

When Pkan began to take his toll, Caelan began to lose control of his arms for the first time. Since then it has been advanced in influencing his speech, balance and the ability to understand with his hands. Caelan had to give up last November as a result of his illness.

Every new day presents its share in tests and trials for Caelan while navigating by Pkan. But Saturday was a welcome sight for Caelan and his family.

“He is surprised about everything they have thrown at us,” said Ryan. “It was wild. We had a limo ride in it.”

Together with receiving a police escort to TD Garden and the subsequent signed contract ceremony, Caelan, Graeme and Landan were all able to fists the players of the Bruins while they got their way on the ice-water-ups on ice level from the penalty box.

Caelan, a little lover whose favorite Bruins player Joonas Korpisalo is, had the opportunity to meet Tuukka Rask twice during the run-up to the Puck Drop on Saturday before he picks up the Boston Tampa Bay Lightning match from one of the Suites in TD Garden.

During the second break, all three from Caelan, Graeme and Landan received a visit in the suite by Bruins defenders Charlie Mcavoy and Hampus Lindholm – who talked to the trio and their families and posed for photos.

“I think the hockey players have the greatest hearts,” said Ryan. '[Caelan’s] Over the years I have met a few, and every time we meet them, they are caring, they have a conversation with these children. Not them, you don't feel they are in a hurry.

“They always seem to give. Especially like today, Charlie and them come in, you know he comes in, have fun with the children, and it's great.”

It has lately been a difficult piece for Caelan and his family – with the release and joy that was accompanied by stopping pucks and unfortunately denying breakaways, unfortunately no longer kept for the young little ones.

But draped in a black-gold sweater on Saturday, the smile that interrupted Caelan's term of office in the net was difficult to miss for the newly signed brown.

“It was incredible from start to finish,” said Shelly. “He couldn't play from November of this last year. So that's why he is still part of it – it just means that much.”

Conor Ryan is a staff writer for the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role that he has conducted since 2023.