David Otto (2017) - Sports Wall of Fame

Sports Wall of Fame

David Otto

Class
Induction

2017
Sport(s)

Golden Bears Hockey

• Forward for the Golden Bears hockey team from 1983 to 1988, serving as an alternate captain in 1987 and 1988
• Two-time Canada West Champion (1984/1985) and 1986 CIAU National Champion
• Recorded three-straight 50 point seasons, and ranks in the top 20 in program history in games played, assists, and points
• 1988 University of Alberta President’s Trophy Recipient, awarded to student-athletes who best exhibit sportsmanship, leadership and integrity
• Member of the 1987 Golden Bears bronze medal winning team at the 1987 Winter Universiade Games in Czechoslovakia

Dr. David Otto - BMSc (1986), MD (1988) - While his talent on the ice was unmistakable, it was his interest in knee surgery, and his gift in the operating room that landed David Otto in the National Hockey League.

It was hard not to picture yourself playing for the Edmonton Oilers, growing up in Edmonton during their glory years of the 1980’s. That was especially true if you yourself were a gifted young South Side Athletic Club hockey player, tearing up the Edmonton Midget league. Those were the shoes Otto found himself in, as a Midget AA Scoring Champion, MVP and Provincial Champion in the early 80’s.

However, Otto never went the professional route. After graduating from Strathcona Composite High School, he took his remarkable talent to the University of Alberta, and the six-time National Champion Golden Bears Hockey team. Who knew that 30 years later Otto would be living out his dream, not as a hockey player, but one of the most renowned Orthopedic surgeons in Canada, a position that landed him a spot as part of the Edmonton Oilers medical team.

His first year at the University, 1983, would look indistinguishable at first glance. 36 games, nine goals, and 21 points. Good numbers for a rookie, surely, but nothing that particularly stood out. However, if one was to look deeper into the 1983/84 Golden Bears strung together by coach Bill Moores, one would find a team chalked full of talent including future NHL defenseman Colin Chisholm, and Canada West all-stars Rick Swan and Dennis Cranston. The star-studded lineup found little trouble en route to the program’s 32nd conference championship, and a national bronze medal.

With the return of legendary coach Clare Drake in 1984, the Golden Bears quickly cemented their legacy as a national power. During Otto’s tenure, they captured another Canada West Championship, as well as their seventh National Championship in 1986. This was done alongside teammates including present Pandas head coach Howie Draper and 2005-2011 Bear’s head coach Eric Thurston. In 1987, they won a Bronze medal representing Canada at the World University Games in Czechoslovakia.

While Otto was starting to tear up his university foes on the ice, it was his accomplishments in the classroom that set him apart from his peers. He was a three-time member of the Dean’s Honour Roll (1983-85), received a University of Alberta Undergraduate Scholarship in 1984, Henry Singer Memorial Bursary from 1984-88, and the Mewburn Memorial Gold medal in Surgery in 1988.

To compete as a student-athlete at any Canadian University is an accomplishment in itself, but to be one aiming to become a doctor is almost unheard of. Otto’s hard work and dedication paid off, as he graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Medical Science with Distinction in 1986, and his MD in 1988. After his final year of Golden Bear hockey he also was co-recipient of the University of Alberta’s President’s Award in 1988 – shared with his good friend Jeff Helland – awarded to the member of the Golden Bears who exhibits sportsmanship, leadership, and integrity.

Let’s not forget, that this was all accomplished while Otto was significantly contributing on the ice for the Golden Bears. Three-consecutive 50 point seasons from 1985-1988, 226 career points in 200 career games, including 19 points in 27 career playoff games. When the dust finally settled on his varsity career, Otto ranked in the top 20 in program history in games played, assists and points.

Even after his graduation in 1988, Otto was far from being done with the institution. In 1990, after spending two years as a Family Medicine Resident at the University of Saskatchewan, Otto returned to complete the four year residency training program in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Alberta. He then spent two years down under in Sydney, Australia - completing fellowship training in knee surgery.

After his training was completed in 1996, Otto returned to the University of Alberta and was appointed to the Division of Orthopedic Surgery as a Clinical Lecturer. In 2000 he was promoted to Associate Clinical Professor and became the Director of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery, a post he held from 2000-2012. During this time, his stature as both a surgeon and educator grew. He is presently a national examiner for Orthopedic Surgery Certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He has twice received the Department of Surgery Undergraduate Top 10 Teachers Award, and continues research mostly in the area of knee ligament injury which has produced 18 publications to date.

In 2001, Otto established a 12 month Fellowship Program in Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine within the Division of Orthopedic Surgery which has now graduated 16 fellows. Since 2012, he has served as the Orthopedic Surgery Co-Director at the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic and is an active member of their multidisciplinary knee team.

Otto is the 26th member of the Golden Bears hockey program to enter the Sports Wall of Fame, and the 24th joining in the Athlete category.

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