Ben Stelter hockey tourney raises more than $500K for cancer fundraiser

An inaugural hockey event held in honour of an Edmonton Oilers superfan to raise money for cancer patients garnered more than $500,000 for the cause.

The three-day Ben's Cup 2024 at the Ardrossan Recreation Complex and Strathcona Olympiette Centre ended Sunday, with 512 hockey players on 32 U11 and U13 teams playing in it.

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Each team played a minimum of four one-hour games to raise money for the Ben Stelter Foundation.

The 36 players and four goalies who raised the most money played in an all-star game on Saturday.

The funds raised will go towards a $150-million centre for proton therapy and neurosciences, an advanced type of cancer treatment.

The tournament had raised $585,000, surpassing its $550,000 goal, as of Sunday afternoon. 

"A lot of (patients needing the treatment) have to decline it because they can't afford to go," Ben's father Mike Stelter said on Sunday.

"There are so many extra expenses that come into play, like transportation ones through their accommodations, meals, some medications. We think everybody should be entitled to the same treatment."

Ben, who was an Oilers superfan who suffered from glioblastoma, was six years old when he died from cancer in 2022. Mike is fighting his own battle with a form of cancer known as sarcoma after doctors found a tumor forming on his spine. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti, Adel Ahmed and Ali Yusuf