5-year-old with a new heart and a big dream will toss a catfish at the Predators game

Stanley the Catfish has rubberband whiskers, a round nose, and a pair of dark eyes with long lashes drawn in black Sharpie.

He's made out of a white hospital towel, the creation of a caring nurse for a little boy awaiting a heart transplant.

During the six months that Caleb Daniel lived at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital last year, the sandy-haired boy often would sit on the side of his hospital bed and toss Stanley over the edge onto the floor.

Just like the Nashville Predators fans at the hockey games he watched on TV.

Stanley has been a faithful companion to Caleb, getting the 5-year-old through the absolute hardest parts of his young life. But on Saturday, for just a little while, Caleb will set the fuzzy catfish aside — in favor of a slimier one.

As the Predators face off against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoff series, Caleb will toss a real catfish onto the ice.

One he picked out himself.

Meet the catfish-tossing legend

Caleb walked into Little's Fish Market on Friday afternoon with Stanley clutched in his small hands.

Eyes wide and nose scrunched up at the sour smell, he peered into glass cases filled with pink salmon and white Alaskan cod.

And he met a catfish-tossing legend.

Tom Dennis smuggled his first fish into Bridgestone Arena last May during the NHL playoffs.

Strapped on his back with Ace bandages, its scaly tail pointing down, the catfish made an appearance on the ice during the 2017 Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks.

It wore a yellow Preds rally towel like a cape. It made a big splash with fellow fans. So Dennis decided to do it again.

The second fish got fancier, boasting a sparkly blue hat. That one became internet famous. As did the fish that followed.

Dennis had quite a reputation by the time he met Ashley and Zack Daniel later that fall at a fundraising event for High Hopes, a development and therapy center that serves kids with special needs.

Caleb's parents shared the story of their son.

Dennis made plans to toss a special catfish on the ice dedicated to Caleb.

It was, he said, "where silly turned cool."

It turned "into something really special."

Later that week, the Daniel family got the call they had been waiting for — Caleb would have his transplant.

"It was surreal," Ashley Daniel says.

He could hardly walk, but he could hold a hockey stick

Caleb was born with half a heart.

He had three open-heart surgeries by the time he was 4. After the third, doctors placed Caleb on the transplant list, and the Daniel family moved into the hospital full-time.

One afternoon, Caleb had two very special visitors — Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne and forward Mike Fisher were there saying hello to the young patients.

Caleb befriended Pekka and "Mr. Mike," and he fell in love with the game.

Wearing a mask over his nose to keep out the germs and tugging an IV pole with the medicine that kept his heart working, Caleb would play hockey in the hospital hallways.

He would put his hand over his heart, and sing the "Nashville anthem." He would toss Stanley over the rail of his hospital bed, as if it were the glass around the rink.

He would shoot goals and send nurses to the penalty box.

He would celebrate with his life-size cutout of Rinne.

"He could hardly walk," his mom remembers. "But he could hold a stick."

And at night, he would watch the games on his iPad, his parents snuggled in bed next to him as doctors and nurses came in and out cheering.

He would always make his parents rewind to the catfish throw, watching it over and over again.

"It's quite amazing, a child's tolerance," his mom says. "He was so sick, but he would fight through it."

Hockey is the best medicine

Caleb's heart transplant took 17 hours.

As the anesthesiologists wheeled him away for surgery, Caleb fearlessly shouted: "Game on."

When he woke up, the first thing he asked was, "Where's my Pekka?"

He went home from the hospital in November.

He's still recovering, but he is well enough to strap on a pair of inline skates and knock a hockey puck through his garage.

Cheering for the Predators really is the best medicine.

Caleb stayed up extra late to watch his team tie the series against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. On Friday, he selected a 10-pound catfish from Little's Fish Market.

"That one looks good," he said, pointing a finger at the silver fish stacked on the ice next to the filets.

On Saturday, Caleb will toss a catfish, just like he has done so many times before.

Only this time, it will be with thousands of fans cheering in the arena around him.

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and jbliss@tennessean.com or on Twitter @jlbliss.