McDavid surprised by family of Oilers superfan after Hart Trophy win

NASHVILLE -- It was no surprise when Connor McDavid won the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player at the 2023 NHL Awards. But the Edmonton Oilers center had no idea what was coming when he stepped on stage to accept the award at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

Country artist Darius Rucker introduced the family of Ben Stelter, the fan who bonded with McDavid and the Oilers before dying of cancer at age 6 on Aug. 8, 2022.

McDavid hugged the father, Mike. Then he hugged one sister, 5-year-old Emmy; the mother, Lea; and another sister, 15-year-old Dylan. Finally, he received the replica Hart Trophy from Mike.

"Wow," McDavid told the audience. "That was an incredible surprise, and it means so much to me to be standing up here with the Stelters thinking about our buddy Ben."

Ben had glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. He endured surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Before the Oilers played the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 24, 2022, he was the "Scotiabank Skater," lining up alongside McDavid for the anthems and giving the players fist bumps. After the Oilers won 5-2, he attended the press conference with forward Zach Hyman.

Ben rejoined the Oilers for the morning skate before they played the Sharks in the regular-season finale April 28, 2022. McDavid gave him his own Upper Deck "Heroic Inspirations" card -- an officially licensed trading card, of which 4,000 were printed for the team and the family.

"You could tell that it was never for show or anything like that," Mike said. "Connor and Ben were buddies. Like, they loved each other, and what they meant to each other was a really, really tight, special bond."

During the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mike would post videos of Ben saying, "Play 'La Bamba,' baby" after each win. That was the Oilers' victory song, inspired by longtime locker room attendant Joey Moss, who died at the age of 57 on Oct. 26, 2020.

"I think obviously he meant a lot to our group, a lot to me as well," McDavid said. "He was an amazing little guy, and just to see his life and how much energy and excitement he brought to our group while going through something like that was amazing to see and definitely taught me a lot of lessons."

You could tell what Ben meant to McDavid on Monday even before the Hart was announced.

McDavid joined the TNT set for a lighthearted segment, and studio analyst Paul Bissonnette teased McDavid with a running gag about his hot tub. He told McDavid if he thanked his hot tub in his Hart speech, he would donate $5,000 to the charity of his choice.

McDavid mentioned the Ben Stelter Fund. Bissonnette said he'd double it.

The Stelter family was watching in a back room with some other people.

"As soon as we saw that on TV, we just sort of had tears in our eyes, and the room just erupted with some applause and cheering," Mike said. "It was special. We weren't expecting that, but it just shows that the impact Ben had on Connor."

The Ben Stelter Fund was launched in December with four pillars: to set up magical experiences for kids battling cancer, to help those kids get medical equipment uncovered by the government or private benefits, for research to find better treatments and ultimately a cure, and for venture philanthropy.

It has raised more than $1 million.

"It's taken off very well," Mike said. "We have some really exciting things coming, and we've been spending some money already helping a lot of kids battling cancer right now in Ben's honor.

"Ben had the biggest heart, always wanted to help other kids. He cared about other kids more than himself at the hospital. He'd take his own money to buy toys for other kids at the hospital that he'd never met, so to know this impact that it's having on other kids is pretty special."

And so, of course, McDavid took up Bissonnette on his offer.

"Biz, thanks for the hot tub," McDavid said on stage. "And I'll match it with you."

That's thousands of dollars more to help kids in honor of Ben.

"It's funny how it worked out," McDavid said. "It almost seems like it was scripted or something like that, but I promise you it wasn't. But that was definitely the one that comes to mind, obviously, whenever somebody mentions a charity.

"Keeping his memory and his spirit alive is important, but also the work that Mike and the entire Stelter family is doing is also really important, because there are a lot of families that are going through situations like that that need help.

"Nobody understands what a family might need in that time quite like the Stelters do. Whether that is a great trip or it's a piece of medical equipment at home or just continuing to do research for everything, I think it's all great stuff."

Mike's eyes were moist after the show.

"It was just a really special night," Mike said. "It meant the world that the NHL invited us out and they thought enough and know enough of Ben that they did that for us. Ben's impact has been huge. He made some really special friends."