Windsor Spitfire great and assistant coach of the NHL champion St. Louis Blues Steve Ott brought hockeys Holy Grail home
Hundreds made it out to Lakeshore's Atlas Tube Centre Sunday to get a peek at the oldest sports trophy in North America - the Stanley Cup.
Former Windsor Spitfire Steve Ott never got to hoist the cup as a player but fulfilled his dream as NHL an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
He brought the Cup to the arena for photos and autographs as a thank you to the community - something his father Butch says is just another reason he's proud of the man Ott's become.
"A lot of times putting things like that ahead of himself, that's where we're very fortunate and proud of him," Ott says.
Butch wasn't surprised when his son laid out his plans to bring the Cup to Lakeshore.
"I have to give Deb a lot of the credit, of course I was the final whip, you know, mom happy, dad's happy kind of thing, but for the most part Steve's always been a good kid in giving to the community," says Ott.
He says seeing the smile on his son's face when he won the Cup reminded him of the day he got his first hockey stick at the age of three.
"In fact, he pushed the Christmas tree over, broke all the balls, his feet were covered with glass and everything else," he says. "I came out and said what the heck is going on in here. He was just having the time of life."
The event also benefited the Community Support Centre of Essex County and Community Food Pantry with spectators being asked to bring a canned good as the cost of admission.
---With files from AM800's Steve Bell