HOCKEY NEWS
 Department of Surgery Hockey team
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Most of my nine years as a neurosurgery resident in
Toronto were served under the leadership of Dr. Rutka
during his tenure as Chairman of the Division of
Neurosurgery. I thus had the great pleasure of attending
many of the social and sporting events that Dr. Rutka
is renowned for arranging. My favorite outings - except
maybe for the camping trips - were the hockey matches
that Dr. Rutka hosted 2-3 times per year.
Playing Canada’s game with resident and staff colleagues
from our division was an important opportunity to
strengthen and enrich our relationships. As a junior resident
it quickly became clear to me that the hockey rink
was an environment free from rank, and all participants
played and interacted as equals. It was also an important
opportunity for physical fitness and for fun - both of
which can be hard to come by as a surgical resident.
Typical of Dr. Rutka’s "only the best" approach, we
sported a set of specially-made uniforms for our Division
of Neurosurgery. No matter how rough things got in the
hospital, neurosurgery residents always took comfort in
knowing that Dr. Rutka was looking out for them - and
that he thought we were the best as evidenced by the
fact that he treated us like the best. The custom-made
uniforms were one of the clearest examples of this. And
of course Dr. Rutka wouldn’t invite you to play hockey
without bringing beverages for everyone to rehydrate
with after the game.
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Sometimes it was staff vs. residents; sometimes we played
side-by-side. We never really kept score. We always had
fun. It was usually hard to walk the next day. Most of
us wished we could play as well as we did back in Pee
Wee… and that our hockey equipment still fit (I favour
the viewpoint that it is the hockey equipment that is
shrinking!). Particularly memorable were the outings
when our foreign-trained residents from nearer the
equator participated - generally their first time on skates!
Despite his grey hairs, Dr. Rutka routinely skated circles
around us on the ice and his sporting prowess was clearly
evident at every hockey match. Indeed, he capped off his
final game as our Chairman with a hat trick.
It was thus a special occasion when the first hockey outing
for the Department of Surgery under his leadership
took place on March 31. Participants from all divisions
laced up their skates for two hockey matches and reveled
in the same comradery long-familiar to us in neurosurgery.
Goals were scored, laughs were had and there were
no adverse cardiac events reported. Dr. Rutka refereed
the first game and then played (and dominated) in the
second despite a shoulder injury.
Hockey games with Dr. Rutka have always been about
more than just hockey and I think this was apparent to
all who attended. Given the success of this initial outing,
I am certain that these hockey matches will become
an annual event and that participation will become an
important source of divisional pride alongside academic
productivity.
Thanks Dr. Rutka!
Gregory Hawryluk, PhD
PGY-5, Neurosurgery.
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