McDavid thrills Edmonton students with school visit supporting Ben Stelter Foundation

EDMONTON -- The students at Ottewell School won their own version of the Connor McDavid lottery and did so with lower odds than the Edmonton Oilers.

As part of a fundraising effort for the Ben Stelter Foundation, the local junior high had a 4.1 percent chance of winning a visit from the Oilers captain. Edmonton won the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery with an 11.5 percent chance and selected McDavid No. 1 in the draft two months later.

The real winner, however, was the foundation as nearly $74,000 was raised by 10 schools from Edmonton and the surrounding area.

“I thought it was really exciting, I thought the kids had a lot of energy,” McDavid said after taking center stage on Friday in front of a student body population of approximately 650. “It’s raised more money than the year previous. I think $74,000 is fantastic and I think all the schools that participated should be proud, Ottewell too. Everybody did amazing work and it was for a great cause in memory of Ben Stelter and his name. They continue to help families and kids that are going through this terrible disease.”

Ben Stelter befriended McDavid and became an inspiration to the entire hockey community while battling glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. He died at the age of 6 on Aug. 9, 2022 and the Ben Stelter Foundation was formed in his name. The Foundation focuses on creating special experiences for kids with cancer, along with providing funds for medical equipment and research.

“You could feel the excitement as soon as he walked into the school,” Ben’s mother Lea Stelter said. “Actually, I could feel it walking up to the school, outside. It was really special and really exciting.”

The school fundraiser is in its third year. It began with one school raising $11,000 in 2023 and grew to five schools raising $43,000 last year. This year, 10 schools took part with each school getting a ballot to have McDavid visit, then earning additional ballots for every $1,000 they raised. Ottewell raised $3,000.

“Anything to do with kids raising money for other kids, I think is powerful,” Lea Stelter said. “It really shows you how pure of heart kids are, because they’re doing it for other kids that can’t.”

McDavid has contributed to the fund and helps promote it by making special appearances such as the one Friday. He took the stage in the gym, answered questions from excited students and staff, posed for pictures and signed autographs. Two autographed McDavid jerseys were presented to Ottewell student fundraising leaders Dutt Vyas and Kyle Ma.

The idea for the student fundraiser came from 15-year-old Aariz Mawji, whose father Ashif Mawji is the chair of the Ben Stelter Foundation.

Ashif Mawji introduced McDavid to Ben Stelter during his battle with cancer and a strong friendship between the two developed. Stelter was an inspiration to the team and entire city during Edmonton’s run to the Western Conference Final in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“For anybody that met Ben, he had such a personality, this little 5, 6-year-old kid that had so much life and personality, that he was just destined to do big things,” McDavid said. “Even though he’s no longer with us today, you can tell that his legacy lives on and will live on for an extremely long time. That’s a big part and thanks to the Mawji family, the directing team that puts this whole thing together, the Stelter family and the amazing work they do with the foundation and to Ben himself, just with the life he lived, the energy that he brought and personality that he had, he was a special little guy and we miss him.”

The Ben Stelter Foundation has raised nearly $2.5 million since its inception in 2022. The foundation is in the process of bringing proton therapy to Canada. Ben’s father Mike underwent the treatment at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia after being diagnosed with sarcoma in March 2023, and needed to combat a tumor forming in his spine.

“The actual money that’s being raised, the awareness that’s being raised, the support of Ben, his family and the foundation, it’s been amazing to see,” McDavid said. “It’s getting bigger and better than I think anyone could have imagined and we’re hoping to bring proton therapy to Canada and that would be such a big thing. That’s a big credit to the kids that continue to support it.”