The game he loves keeps Steve Ott away from the party.

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Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of profiles of the 42nd Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024, which is scheduled to be inducted Oct. 5 at the Chosiaro Club at 5:30 p.m.

The game he loves keeps Steve Ott away from the party.

Through hockey, Steve Ott earned a spot in the 2024 class of the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame. That is also the reason why Ott will not be able to attend the induction ceremony on Saturday.

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“I can’t be there,” said Ott, 42, who will instead sit on the bench as an assistant coach with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. “There’s a game that night, and I made a video for everyone there.”

Ott grew up in a military family, so although he was born on Prince Edward Island, Essex County has always been his home.

“My parents were stationed there and we were stationed in Winnipeg and Toronto,” Ott said. “We came back every summer, and I picked up St. Joachim. I haven’t left school since eighth grade.”

Ott played Junior C hockey at Belle River and Junior B at Leamington, where he was a major contributor to the resurgence of the Windsor Spitfires at the turn of the century.

“When I was in the ninth grade of high school, I always saw Spitz players walking down the hall and knew I wanted to be a Spitz player,” Ott said.

At the time, underage players could only be selected in the first three rounds of the Ontario Hockey League draft. Ott was skipped in the first round and was scheduled to go to the NCAAs on a scholarship the following year, as older players are usually not selected beyond the fourth round.

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Ott said, “Since I was blown away (the first time), I continued on my way to school.” “I was scheduled to go to the (OHL) draft in Brampton, but I didn’t get a call from Windsor, the only team I wanted to talk to.

“The night before the draft, we called (general manager) Mike Kelly and (head coach) Tom Webster. They said, ‘Come to the hotel and we’ll interview you.’ I went there and sat down with them and the interview went well.

“I said if I got drafted higher than the third or fourth round, I would go. I was the last pick in the second round, and within 48 hours they came and signed me. I asked for it. I was very excited.”

Years of experience playing with players much older than himself in Junior B and C hockey helped shape Ott’s edgy, gritty style while maintaining his scoring ability.

“At first it was survival-based,” Ott says. “When you’re 14 or 15 and playing against 21-year-olds in Junior C, it’s a tough league with a lot of fighting, line scuffles, goalie fights. Surviving gave me an edge.

“My dad (Butch Ott) said scouts have to think you’re tough enough. You got hit in the face the first game and the next game and the game after that, but the scouts had to think you were tough enough. It made me a more complete player.”

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He won two medals with Canada’s world junior team and became a 50-goal scorer for the Spitfires in perhaps the most dramatic fashion, reaching the milestone on a penalty shot late in the final regular-season game.

Over three seasons with the Spitfires, Ott had 116 goals and 237 points in 174 games, accumulating 473 penalty minutes and was drafted in the NHL’s first round by the Dallas Stars.

“I was so excited to be a Windsor Spitfire,” Ott said. “My first year in the OHL, I didn’t know anything about the NHL Draft until the first rankings came out, which was shocking at the time.

“I was on Top Prospects for Christmas and was MVP. The next ranking came out and I was 12th in North America. That’s when I really knew the NHL could be a path if I worked hard. Ta.”

His NHL career spanned 14 seasons and 848 games, with stops in Dallas, Buffalo, St. Louis, Detroit, and Montreal.

“When I look back at my career as a player, I left the small town of Windsor, went to Dallas as a teenager, and left the league as a full-fledged person,” Ott said. “It’s every kid’s dream to look back, but mine came true. The work ethic, the sacrifices, those moments that I cherish.”

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He quickly transitioned into coaching and joined the Blues, winning the Stanley Cup while also helping Canada to this year’s World Championship as an assistant coach.

“It’s the next best thing,” Ott said of coaching. “When the time comes and you can’t play, you wonder what to do. When I retired at 35, I felt like I still had a lot of good years left and I love my next team.

“I was lucky enough to have enough coaches within the game who loved the game and it was a passion.”

And while he continues to pursue his dreams, Ott is honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and remembered as one of the area’s greatest.

“You don’t know until you get selected,” Ott said. “It really hit home for me and I was so happy and honored when I got the call. I have so much pride in the Windsor and Essex County community.”

The 42nd WECSHOF induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday at Chosiaro Club. Tickets for the event are available at Nantis Athletic Inc., Riverside Physiotherapy Clinic and online at www.wecshof.com.

jpparker@postmedia.com

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