Battle of Ontario: Dentistry Hockey Teams vie for OD Cup

By Rachel Boutet

The U of T Dental Hockey Club battled the Western Mighty Dents at the 2024 Ontario Dental Cup, with a score of 3-4 on Western’s home ice.

The team was led by co-captains, Mitchell Dzaldov and Justin Konrad, both members of the class of 2024.

This traditional game dates back to 2008, representing the positive relationships and collegiality of the dental community in Ontario, where dentists, students, sponsors and volunteers join together with a unified purpose – to raise funds for two causes: the CAMH Dental Clinic in Toronto and the Wright Clinic in London. This year, nearly $37,000 was raised to be split between both organizations.

“Having completed a CAMH rotation as a fourth-year student, it’s really meaningful to know where the money is going and being able to see its impact,” says Konrad. “The CAMH staff are super grateful for everything we do and we know the patients there will directly benefit from the funds we raised.”

Essential to the relationship the Faculty has with CAMH is Joel Rosenbloom, director of student life and assistant professor, teaching stream, who is also the team’s head coach. He spends one day a week as a staff dentist at CAMH and supervises the student rotations.

“Dr. Rosenbloom is not only our head coach, but also sort of a father figure,” says Dzaldov. “He’s been a mentor both on and off the ice and we’ve all been able to build a stronger bond with him seeing him outside of the classroom. His door is always open to us.”

Rosenbloom says it’s a great honour to work with these students in different capacities.

“It’s a joy to watch the students on the ice as I see a different element to their personality and am always in awe of the level of excellence of the players – many have played competitive hockey for most of their lives,” says Rosenbloom. “At CAMH, I always try to book the team players patients who are benefitting from the OD Cup Funds, so they can see the impact one-on-one. It’s a full circle moment. I recently introduced a team member to a patient receiving dentures paid for by the OD Cup fundraising. She said, ‘You don't know how much this means to me, I haven't had any teeth for 20 years, I wish I could hug you, but I know I can't, in my mind I am hugging you’.”

The students benefit greatly from being part of the team – also both on and off the ice.

“The team has students from all different years, so it allows you to network and create relationships with people you wouldn’t necessarily interact with otherwise,” says Konrad. “I remember in second year being able to ask questions to the fourth-year students which was extremely helpful.”

Dzaldov adds that playing on the team provides more balance as a busy dental student.

“It’s a good break from your whole life being dentistry,” he says. “It’s nice to get some exercise, get to know different people, and have a little friendly competition.”

While Konrad and Dzaldov are graduating this year and heading into the workforce, they will both cherish their time playing for the U of T Dental Hockey Club and the bonds they formed.

“Every year, the team gets a cottage in Uxbridge to get to know each other before the hockey season start,” says Konrad. “Those weekends will always be some of my favourite memories of dental school.”

Photo: Justin Konrad, Mitchell Dzaldov and Joel Rosenbloom (Andrew Seto)