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Even though he was born in Canada and his own father delivered world famous hockey star Wayne Gretzky, Austin Rose, who practices pediatric otolaryngology at UNC, didn’t start playing hockey until he moved to North Carolina.

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Austin Rose, MD

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Written by Nathan Clendenin for UNC Health Care

I grew up in Indiana by a lake. In the winter, the lake would freeze over and there was plenty of hockey playing all around. When I moved to North Carolina to escape the long and shivering cold winters, I didn’t expect to find an NHL hockey team based right here in Raleigh. Later on when the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup Championship, I was even more shocked! So, if you’re like me, you might be surprised to find that a fun-loving pediatric ear, nose, and throat surgeon like Austin Rose spends his free time on the ice. Rose plays hockey with a local team called the Tripods.

If you’ve seen the Carolina Hurricanes play professional hockey, then you might be disappointed to find that there’s no checking (using the body to slow or stop an opponent) or fighting allowed in the Triangle Adult Hockey League at the Sportsplex in Hillsborough. But there is plenty of action going on. Even if your knowledge of ice is limited to adding a little bit of tea and a lot of sugar, there’s room for you! There are sessions and classes for beginners of all ages. In fact, even though he was born in Canada and his father delivered world famous hockey star Wayne Gretzky, Rose didn’t start playing hockey until he moved to North Carolina as an adult. He regularly hones his skills with other North Carolinian hockey lovers at the Sportsplex’s regulation-sized hockey rink.

To see the action and hear Rose’s story, check out this month’s installment of real doctors, real people.