Pee wee hockey player gets wish granted after cancer battle

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Max Akerson’s family rushed him to the emergency room on Jan. 5, after the 13-year-old began to experience a fever and abdominal pain. But the Akerson’s had no idea that a life-changing diagnosis of stage four liver cancer was waiting at the hospital.

"He had a very large tumor that had to be surgically removed," Max’s father Robb Akerson explained. "And then there were three rounds of chemotherapy that followed."

Now, every few months Max has follow-up scans to make sure he stays on top of the disease. His first scan was on September 26, and it came back clean.

But surprisingly enough, Max’s dad Robb says through it all the health scare wasn’t what got to his son the most. Instead, for the Champlin Park pee wee goaltender, the hardest part was how the diagnosis pulled him away from minding his net.

"If you know Max, you know sports [are] his life, and not being able to participate in hockey, which is his favorite sport, was pretty tough," Robb said.

The now-8th grader was sidelined for most of his 2021 season on the ice, as the battle with cancer kept him on the bench. But, on Monday, with the help of Minnesota-based children’s charity organization "Wishes and More," former professional athlete and Golden Gophers’ hockey Hobey Baker award-winning goaltender Robb Stauber tried to make up for that; by surprising Max with a full outfit of brand-new gear.

"It’s always great to give back," Stauber told FOX 9. "It’s awesome, I don’t ever remember getting new gear [as a kid]."

"It just feels really good that he picked it out himself," Max added afterward. "It was unreal…  I definitely was not expecting it."

As Max recovers and gets back on the ice, Stauber also promises to help him on that journey with a private coaching session.