Monsters, IceHogs Make Dreams Come True

The Cleveland Monsters and Rockford IceHogs kept the holiday giving season going this week by making the dreams of two kids come true. 

On Thursday, the Monsters hosted a Batman theme night complete with a special guest; BATMAN! Ok, ok, it wasn’t Batman himself. A busy schedule of fighting crime in Gotham City prevented him from making it to Cleveland for the event. However, four-year-old Brooks Taseff was sent in Batman’s place. It’s a good thing he was there because someone needed to help the Monsters deal with a nefarious activity which took place before the game. Joining forces with his older brother Elliott and Monsters Captain Dillon Simpson, Taseff went on an adventure around Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to solve the mystery of a missing Monsters Batman jersey, which had fallen into the hands of Harley Quinn. 

After finding the missing jersey, Taseff dropped the ceremonial puck and then enjoyed time watching the game from a suite with his family. A well deserved celebration after saving the day.

You can watch the video of the quest to find the missing jersey below:

A Special WIsh and their NP4Kids When I Grow Up Program worked with the Monsters to help make this beautiful moment come to fruition. Taseff was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia earlier in the year. This is the most common type of leukemia found in children and accounts for about 30 percent of all pediatric cancers. 

On Friday, the IceHogs signed six-year old  Samuel Escutia to a one-day contract. After signing his contract, he met with the team and enjoyed his first press conference with the media. The surprises kept coming for Escutia.The IceHogs asked him to adopt Elliott, a teddy bear who made his way to the Teddy Bear Toss earlier this month in hopes of finding his “furever” home.  

The IceHogs New Years Eve game will hold even more fun things for Escutia to participate in before the game. From reading starting lineups to joining the team on the bench for warm-ups to executing the ceremonial puck drop, Escutia will be front and center leading the way. Plus, his mom will be singing the National Anthem. 

A timeline of Escutia’s journey was provided by the IceHogs below: 

Samuel’s Journey

March 6, 2016: Samuel is born at 25 weeks, weighing just 1 lb., 5 oz.
July 5, 2016: Samuel has open heart surgery
October 13, 2016: Samuel undergoes surgery to place a tracheostomy
November 30, 2016: After 276 days in the intensive care unit, Samuel is finally moved out of ICU
March 6, 2017: Samuel spends his first birthday in Lurie Children’s Hospital
April 10, 2017: Samuel undergoes a surgery to correct his craniosynostosis
July 8, 2021: Samuel undergoes surgery for a cancerous tumor in his liver
2017-present day: Samuel has continued to be moved back and forth from the hospital for several different viruses and illnesses. Up until this year Samuel had never spent a Christmas at home.

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