The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
As a defenceman for the Flin Flon Bombers, Ben Lulashynk was known for taking the body. Now he's known for taking care of it. Dr. Lulashynk, general practitioner, has begun practising in Dauphin after graduating from the University of Manitoba Medical School this past May. He hasn't worn maroon and white since the 2001 Royal Bank Cup, but he is still benefitting from his three seasons as a Bomber. "I really believe that life experience that I got playing with the Bombers was really instrumental in helping me weather the kind of educational storms I got from medicine," says the 29-year-old Thompson native. Hockey taught Lulashynk to stay motivated, to work through the tough times and to believe in himself no matter what the odds happened to be. Those are valuable lessons for anyone, but more so for a young man about to embark on eight all-consuming years of university. Not that he knew what lay ahead. Lulashynk was unsure what he was going to do when he enrolled at the University of Regina in 2001 on an academic athletic scholarship. He skated for the U of R hockey team his first two years before hanging up his skates. "I realized hockey wasn't going to go on forever, and what do I want to do with my education?" he says. Having excelled in courses that were prerequisites for health programs, Lulashynk had begun to envision a career in medicine. "I think people close to me knew I always try to work hard in school, and I knew that it would be important in the end to do well to make sure there's opportunities for me," he recalls. "But I had no real family connections to medicine, no real experience or family friends (in medicine)." But he did have his hockey background. After Lulashynk switched to the U of M, earning a science degree in 2005, he applied to the university's faculty of medicine. Some doctors have said getting into medical school is as challenging as the program itself. The requirements are stringent and the competition fierce. Just as he had on the ice, Lulashynk would have to persevere. It paid off when he received his acceptance letter, but now a whole other set of challenges awaited. "Once I got into medicine, the bar is set very high to begin with because you have all these people who are high-achievers and very intelligent people," he says. "Right from the get-go you're immersed in a lot of study. "You've got to keep motivated for quite a few years to get through it. It's definitely not a cakewalk just because you get in." After graduating in May, Lulashynk leapt at the chance to return to his country roots by entering the university's rural family medicine residency program. He will spend the next two years primarily in Dauphin, completing his physician's license while mastering the aspects of the career they just can't teach you in school. In so many ways, Lulashynk is a world away from his hockey career. Yet he loves to reminisce. He remembers vividly his time in Flin Flon and all those winter nights at the Whitney Forum. "The Whitney was great," he says. "It was definitely the best rink in the SJHL when I played. The great thing was that when I started, we had a good fan base. It was about 1,000 season tickets, but every year we progressed because every year we had a team that was a little more hyped. "The crowd was lively. You'd just be energized for the game. You always knew the crowd was your sixth man and you always knew other teams just hated coming to the Whitney." Not surprisingly, Lulashynk remains an avid follower of his former team, now coached and managed by one-time teammate Mike Reagan. He wishes them nothing but success. " I will always hold the Bombers and Flin Flon in a place in my heart," he says. "It really meant a lot to me to play up there." Although Lulashynk never got to wear the coveted 'C', he couldn't be happier with the other letters Ð 'MD' Ð his days as a Bomber have helped him earn.
