Oilers superfan's father diagnosed with cancer

Mike Stelter, the father of late Edmonton Oilers superfan Ben Stelter, has been diagnosed with cancer less than a year after his son died at age 6 from the disease.

Mike announced the news Thursday on Twitter.

"Hi everyone, we wanted to update you all with what's going on in our lives," Stelter wrote. "I was having back pains and with an mri and the doctors found a tumour growing on my spine. We have to travel to the US for treatment because it's not available in Canada."

Mike, wife Lea and daughters Dylan, 15, and Emmy, 5, attended the 2023 NHL Awards in Nashville on June 26 and surprised Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid when they walked onstage to present him with the Hart Trophy for being voted the NHL most valuable player.

That night, McDavid and "NHL on TNT" analyst Paul Bissonette each pledged to

donate $10,000 to the Ben Stelter Fund

.

Ben Stelter died Aug. 8, 2022, of glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, after having multiple chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Ben had been introduced to the Oilers on March 24, 2022, lining up alongside McDavid for the national anthems as the "Scotiabank Skater" prior to a game against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place. Following a 5-2 victory, Oilers forward Zach Hyman brought Ben into the postgame media conference, and from there he became a fixture with the team down the stretch of the regular season and into the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Oilers reached the Western Conference Final before being swept by the Colorado Avalanche that season.

"He meant a lot to our group and 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, even while going through something like that, it was amazing to see, and it definitely taught me a lot of lessons."

Following Ben's death, the Stelter family, with the support of the Oilers Community Foundation, set up the Ben Stelter Fund. Since its launch in December, it has raised more than $1 million to help children and families going through battles similar to Ben's.

The family was at a press event in Edmonton on Tuesday, when the Oilers announced the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation had invested more than $17 million into community programs, including the Ben Stelter Fund.

"It's going unbelievable," Mike Stelter said Tuesday. "The support from the community has been huge, just for everyone that rallied around Ben, they've rallied around this fund to help kids like Ben. It's been amazing. Connor and 'Biz' both donating $10,000 each was super cool."

A

GoFundMe fundraising site has been set up

for Mike and the family. Lea's sister, Danielle Ribich, who created the page, wrote in a post on the site that doctors don't know what type of tumor it is, but that Mike needs proton therapy for treatment.

"Canada is the only major Country in the world that doesn't have this treatment available," she wrote. "Mike and Lea are going to have to travel to Pennsylvania for a consultation and testing, and then 7 weeks of treatment. So far, they've been told that only Mike's flight to Pennsylvania and the treatment itself will be covered by Alberta Health. There still may be added expenses for testing, scans, and medication while in the United States."

She explained that the Stelters "will essentially be paying for 2 households while neither of them will be able to work. There will be a lot of expenses while they are away such as accommodations, flights, transportation, parking, meals, and medication along with their regular expenses at home. We are hoping that there aren't any surprise costs with the treatment while they're down there."