Giving back to the community has always been a pillar of who the Tampa Bay Lightning are. This season the Lightning Foundation celebrated their 10th Anniversary of the Honorary Captain program, which gives the ultimate day-in-the-life opportunity to children from Make A Wish and the Children's Dream Fund.
Kazi Walker, the Dream Manager at The Children's Dream Fund serves as a liaison, bringing together the families involved and connecting them to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Walker gets to know each kid well, working to create the perfect dream.
“The Honorary Captain is one of the biggest dream programs that we utilize. Right off the bat, the kids are so excited. It's never ‘Let me think about it’.. It's always a yes without hesitation,” said Walker.
For the kids, the experience of being an Honorary Captain means having a moment of reprieve from the ups and downs of their medical journey.
Brody Turer, who recently served as honorary captain, took part in Coach Cooper’s press conference after morning skate. Cooper took Turer’s hand to ensure he was included in questions, asking him what he thought the team needed to do in order to get back on track.
Turer’s response, “Get Kuch the puck.”
The Lightning went 8-0 after that, which was not lost on Brody or his family. They reached out to Walker, letting her know they were keeping track.
“That whole experience by Coach Cooper bringing him into the conversation, and how much joy it brought Brody.. it made such an impact,” said Walker.
Apollo Sudbury who was Honorary Captain in March 2025, was diagnosed with a rare form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 12. Sudbury currently plays for the Tampa Bay Crunch AA hockey team.
Apollo underwent multiple surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy, medical appointments, and a blood transfusion. On March 4 his first post-treatment scan revealed no evidence of cancer. On March 25 he was the Lightning Honorary Captain.
“I've never done something like this before, actually being able to watch morning skate, meet the team, and go on a shopping spree,” said Sudbury. “I’m just really thankful.”
Apollo brought Victor Hedman and Anthony Cirelli’s rookie cards with him into the locker room.
“I love Victor Hedman, he’s the captain of the team and a really good player, I’m happy he was willing to sign it.”
Hedman has seen first hand how much the Lightning’s impact on the community has grown over years.
“It means a lot for them and obviously it means a lot for us to meet them too,” said Hedman. “To see Apollo have my rookie card, that rookie card was from before he was born.”
Amanda Tellini, the mother of Tyler Tellini who was an honorary captain in November 2024, remembers driving past the park behind Amalie Arena that morning, and seeing her son’s name displayed across the marquee.
“It's hard to battle cancer as a family, and to see that, and have a whole day of pure joy meant so much to us,” said Tellini.
“We had our son two days before Tyler was diagnosed. We had just gotten home from the hospital and received the news. Everything stopped. I remember we had an hour of ‘We're in for this.’”
Tyler was excited to meet one of his favorite players, Conor Geekie.
“I've been following him since he was in Arizona, so getting to meet him was huge. When he came to Tampa, obviously, I loved that move.”
Tyler now has Geekie’s stick hanging above his bed next to a signed Lightning jersey.
As for what the Honorary Captains took away from the experience, for Tyler..
“Just be grateful for the moments you get and the opportunities you have. I love sharing my story because I hope it inspires people going through similar things.”
Apollo left with a similar feeling..
“From what I can say, it would be to keep on fighting. Never ever give up, ever, even if something isn’t going your way, Maybe it’s going the complete opposite. Always keep going.”
