Thanks to a Halloween costume that captured the interest of hockey fans nationwide, a Sarnia family recently had the opportunity to meet a national hero.

Thanks to a Halloween costume that captured the interest of hockey fans nationwide, a Sarnia family recently had the opportunity to meet a national hero.

Last Friday, the day before Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers game against the Maple Leafs, DJ and Steph Oetting, along with their son Easton, met in Toronto.

DJ Oetting remarked, “It was a pretty wild experience.” “We got some photos with him, and he signed things with his autograph. It was quite awesome.

After a video of an Edmonton Oilers Zamboni Halloween costume DJ made for Easton went viral in the fall and was featured in media stories and hockey broadcasts, McDavid and the family met virtually.

Easton, 5, a senior kindergartener at King George VI Elementary School in Sarnia, was born with 8p23.1 duplication syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes cognitive delays, low muscle tone, and global developmental delays.

“We’ve been making different Halloween costumes for Easton every year,” Oetting stated.

In addition to operating a construction skid steer and playing the elderly man from the movie Up, he has also worked at a hotdog stand and a medical stroller that Easton uses to get around school.

Oetting claimed that pre-Halloween brainstorming about how to incorporate the Oilers into a costume produced the idea for Zamboni.

Oetting, who had grown up a Leafs supporter, became a supporter of the Oilers during the Wayne Gretzky era after his aunt and uncle relocated to Edmonton.

He said, “My wife suggested the Zamboni.” “I went outside and got some supplies after getting the idea in my head.”