This Stanley Cup run for the Carolina Hurricanes means more to one Washington family.
JoJo, or Joseph, was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, and in 2023, Make-A-Wish granted his dream to meet Sebastian Aho.
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Now, Joseph is watching every game of this Stanley Cup Final from his home over on the west coast.
In 2023, he toured the locker room and played on the ice with the Canes.
"I think they really made him feel like part of the team,” Joseph’s dad Joseph Kasperski said.
Joseph calls Sebastian Aho, his “buddy,” or “number 20.”
His parents say his Make a Wish Day was a dream.
"He got me a chocolate milk!" Joseph said.
That sweet relationship continues through Joseph's medical difficulties.
“He had leukemia in 2019 and then his treatment he got brain damage,” Joseph’s mother Ann explained. “Now he has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, so there's a very severe form of epilepsy."
The Canes have been there, inviting the family to morning skate when they play in Seattle.
“Every experience we have with them is just more wishes come true,” Ann said.
On a first name basis with Canes star Sebastian Aho, carrying his former hockey stick, watching every game from thousands of miles away, Joseph is practically part of the team, with high hopes for this series.
“They’re awesome,” he said. "Let's go Canes!"
That teams' heart is visible on and off the ice.
“They are obviously sports heroes, but they're people first, and they care."
WRAL asked Joseph if he thinks the Canes will win the Stanley Cup. He said yes!