shelter in what has been described as a "rough" neighbourhood of Scarborough. Stewart began skating at the age of four and playing hockey at five. As a young hockey player, he would often walk with his father to hockey games and practices. On one such occasion, the two were walking in a blizzard when they were picked up by a fellow hockey parent, Bob Ziemendorf, who was driving his child to the same place. Ziemendorf drove them home again after the practice, and from then on he regularly gave the family lifts and helped them with the cost of hockey and groceries. During a particularly trying time for the family, Stewart moved in with Ziemendorf and his family for over a year and a half. Stewart later stated that he believed that, without this help, he could not have got into the NHL. Playing career Minor hockey and major junior Stewart played minor hockey for the North York Canadians. He played so well that the cost of his hockey was subsidized personally by the head of the organization. With Stewart on the team, the North York Canadians won three all-Ontario championships. He played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with North York. After finishing his minor hockey career, Stewart was selected by the Kingston Frontenacs in the first round of the OHL draft. In his first season in the OHL, he scored 19 goals and 43 points, and in the 2002–03 season he increased his tally to 38 goals and 70 points, then added seven more points in five playoff games. In the off-season, Stewart was named captain of the Frontenacs and was drafted in the first round of the NHL draft. Going into the 2003 NHL entry draft, he was rated as the 19th best prospect among North American skaters. With their second first round draft pick, the 25th overall, the Florida Panthers selected him. While the Frontenacs missed the playoffs the following season, Stewart scored a career high 35 goals. He attended the Panthers' training camp prior to the start of the 2004–05 OHL season. He performed impressively there but was sent back to Kingston to help his growth as a player. In his last OHL season, he led the Frontenacs' scoring with 67 points. After the Frontenacs failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, Stewart made his professional debut, playing 10 games