The one who saw and heard everything for 60 years within the Montreal Canadiens organization… is taking his well-deserved retirement. The club announced Friday afternoon that Dr. David Mulder was stepping down as chief medical officer.
Dr. Mulder will still retain a consulting role.
He will be replaced in his former role by Dr. Dan Deckelbaum who has spent the last 12 years with the organization. He served as the team’s assistant chief physician since the 2011-2012 season.
Also, Dr. Thierry Pauyo becomes the Canadiens’ chief orthopedic surgeon. In addition, Matthew Moore was hired as a massage therapist, Daniel Chammas was promoted to assistant sports therapist and Marie-Pierre Néron was hired to replace him in Laval as assistant sports therapist with the Rocket.
“On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to warmly thank Dr. David Mulder for all his years of service to the Canadiens,” said owner, president and CEO Geoff Molson. Dr. Mulder devoted his entire life to our organization. We will miss his passion, his professionalism and his way of treating others. I also want to take the time to congratulate Dr. Dan Deckelbaum on this well-deserved promotion. »
Dr. Mulder was involved in all the events that struck the Canadian, from Trent McLeary’s fractured larynx to Saku Koivu’s cancer, including the fracture of a vertebra in Max Pacioretty’s neck, Richard Zednik’s severe concussion and the broken skull of Blake Geoffrion.
“The injury to Trent McLeary (a puck hit in the throat) completely closed the air intake and he was going to die without our intervention,” he says in the book Hockey Doc. We allowed air to enter on the way to the hospital. We alerted the operating room to prepare for an emergency tracheotomy. This is the closest I’ve come to seeing a player die. »
Having started in the organization in 1963, Dr. Mulder began his sporting career working with the players of the Montreal Junior Canadiens, the Montreal Voyageurs and then those of the Montreal Canadiens. The native of Eston, Saskatchewan, was chief surgeon at the Montreal General Hospital from 1977 to 1998. He was president of the NHL Society of Chief Surgeons from 2003 to 2006, and was decorated with the Order of Canada as well as Honorary Merit from the Montreal General Hospital. Dr. Mulder was also honored in October 2012 by the USA National Safety Councils for his important role in the development of a trauma program across the province of Quebec.
Dr. Dan Deckelbaum is currently an assistant professor in the divisions of trauma and general surgery at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), an associate member of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University, as well as honorary assistant professor at the National University of Rwanda. During his journey, he developed a passion for education and the advancement of surgery globally, as well as disaster preparedness and response. His interest in global health grew out of field experiences in public hospitals in East Africa as well as disaster response activities in Somalia, Kenya, the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as ‘in Haiti.