Stützle and Chabot both credited the late Griffin Bell, a local Senators fan and oncology patient who passed away in 2024 at the age of 6, with their interest in supporting CHEO and CHEO Foundation.
“I got close friends with [Griffin’s uncle Ben], and we kind of just got to know each other playing golf, and then obviously, kind of led into getting to know the family, and now they’re pretty close with all of us, if not most of us, in the room,” said Chabot.
“It was about bringing a smile on Griffy’s face and bringing him to the rink. He loved hockey, he would draw up some Sens guys playing on the ice, and he always talked about hockey. When we would bring him to the rink, Timmy and so many guys in the room were so nice to him, he would come on game days and practice days."
“He would always come down to the room, such a nice kid who always loved life, and had so much joy, and loved being around the rink, it was just every time we went to CHEO, it hit really hard,” said Stützle.
“Griffy brought so much joy to my face, I know Chabby’s face as well, seeing him happy every day, we just want to support those families as well, I think they go through the toughest times in their lives, and you’d never wish those on your biggest enemies. It means a lot to us, obviously the Bell family has been there for us all the time.”
The 2026 'Kids These Days' campaign aims to remodel, transform and build to meet the growing and increasingly complex needs of children and youth from eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec, and Nunavut.
Through expanded access to care and continued innovation, CHEO will help more children get the care they need sooner and closer to home, benefiting from new treatments, technologies, and models of care.
