'Kids want to help': First Ben Stelter memorial hockey fundraiser underway

A minor hockey tournament honouring one of the Oilers' biggest fans is underway to help cancer patients.

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The 2024 Inaugural Ben’s Cup Youth Hockey Tournament began Friday at the Ardrossan Recreation Complex and Strathcona Olympiette Centre.

Thirty-two teams, made up of 16 U-11 and 16 U-13 teams, will compete in at least four one-hour games to raise money in support of the Ben Stelter Foundation.

There will be 512 players playing in the tournament. The top 36 players and top four goalies with the most money raised will also play in an All-Star game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Money raised during the event will go to the Ben Stelter Centre for Proton Therapy and Neurosciences, a soon-to-be facility that will offer some of the most advanced forms of radiation treatment for cancer patients in Canada.

The facility will introduce proton therapy into Canada. It's a non-invasive cancer treatment procedure that uses a beam of protons to destroy cancer cells.

Ben Stelter, who was an Oilers superfan who suffered from glioblastoma, was only six years old when he died from cancer on Aug. 9, 2022.

His father, Mike Stelter, is currently fighting his own battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with sarcoma after doctors found a tumor forming on his spine.

He told CTV News Edmonton on Friday his son would be the first in line to rally all the players at the tournament.

"He'd be running around making sure everyone's taken care of, everyone's having a fun time, and probably be out there playing hockey a little bit, too," said Stelter.

"Kids want to help out. They want to make a difference, and this is a really cool platform for them to help, whether they're helping friends and family that they know that have been diagnosed with cancer, or just to help other kids to make it better for them," he added.

According to Stelter, hundreds of Albertans have traveled to the United States to get the advanced, but expensive, treatment.

"A lot of families have to decline it because they can't afford to go. We think that everybody should be able to get the same treatment, no matter their financial status."

As of publication, the hockey tournament had raised more than $343,000 with 3,583 donations.

To donate to the cause, visit the Ben Stelter Foundation website.

The hockey tournament runs until Dec. 29.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach.