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“I hope, absolutely, that stuff like this gets out of the game and we continue to grow as people. Kids at a young age were doing something they love and people were saying evil things. It’s upsetting. It turns my stomach.”

Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia

As for receiving personal praise for doing a good deed, the son passes all the credit on to his parents for the lessons they’ve taught him.

The whole idea of bringing the team to Ottawa belonged to his mother, Bonnie. It came naturally enough. She worked for the Children’s Aid Society and the O’Reilly home was always full of foster children.

Disgusted upon hearing the original story of how the players were treated in Quebec City, Bonnie O’Reilly reached out to the team to offer her support.

Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia

When the grand plan came together Thursday, she was a bundle of energy in herding the players and their families toward selfies with her son, making sure there were enough sharpies to go around and that nobody missed an autograph or an opportunity to meet with Ryan one-on-one.

Blues coach Craig Berube, who is part Cree, also mingled with the players and their families.

Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia

“I was hurt for the kids,” said Bonnie O’Reilly, sporting a T-shirt with the message #playersagainsthate. “Any time you see meanness, you feel sad that there’s a victim to that. We looked at Ryan’s schedule and thought it would be really nice if we could do something and it turned out to be March break, so the kids could travel here.”

She says her message to her children — including son, Cal, who is playing for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League — was to speak up when they saw unkindness.