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Dental medicine student plays teacher by Chris West Public Relations The usual connection of teeth to hockey is their loss.    But hockey and dental health? For Jason Hehr, first year dental student and former South Carolina Stingray, the connection is far from skating on thin ice.   Aside from the obligations of an education in dental health, Hehr lends his experience and expertise on the ice to a new generation of hockey players, the Charleston Wolverines. The Wolverines, in turn, give Hehr those moments he needs to “get away from it all.”   The Wolverines are a mite travelling hockey team of eight- and nine-year-olds based out of the Carolina Ice Palace, where Hehr spends most of his Tuesday and Thursday nights coaching the team in hockey fundamentals, drills and skating.   “The kids just love the game,” Hehr said. “This is important because the game is about fun and if you aren’t having any, don’t play.”     Hailing from Kelowna, British Columbia, hockey was as natural to Hehr as soccer is to the suburbs. So not only did he play hockey, but played well, earning a scholarship to play at North Michigan University. Hehr truly graduated from the “school of hard knocks” both on and off the ice, earning his BS in biochemistry.   Hehr's prowess as a defenseman earned him a spot on the San Jose Sharks organization, took him to Kansas City and eventually to Europe to play in England. Hehr found a thriving team in the South Carolina Stingrays in 1997 and would stay until 1999 when a knee injury forced him to reevaluate his options.   “Dentistry had sparked an interest in me at a young age,” Hehr said. “Then I found that Northern Michigan had a pre-dental advisory board with a 100 percent student placement record. Everything just fell into place after that.”   But Hehr had more than just an interest in dentistry. In high school, he relied on it to fix a broken smile. So does Hehr smile through his natural pearly whites?   “No I don’t,” Hehr admitted with a smile when asked if he had all his original teeth. “I took a stick to the face when I was 16 and it cost me three teeth. That solidified my interest in dental health.”   But since old habits die hard, Hehr's passion for the game would return him to the ice. Only this time his motive would be to give back to hockey what he had received so bountifully.    The time and effort afforded the Wolverines paid off quickly, with the team capturing first place in their 11-state division, the first team from South Carolina to do so, and earned them an invitation to the North American Silver Sticks Finals in Michigan on Jan. 25.   “The Silver Sticks invitation was a great honor,” Hehr said. “The overall winners were a youth Canadian team, but we were the only team in the tournament to score on them. It was a victory in our eyes.”   But according to team members’ parents, the true victor is Hehr and what he has brought to the team. “Certainly the Wolverines’ on-ice success is a direct relation to Jason’s lessons, coaching and exuberance,” said Eric Weinstein, M.D. and father of number seven, Dalton. Weinstein was so impressed with Hehr's efforts that he wrote a letter of recommendation to Richard DeChamplain, DMD, and dean of the College of Dental Medicine.    So whether the future has Hehr drilling offensive players into the boards or offensive cavities out of teeth, for now he is truly enjoying the best of both worlds.   “The game has and always will be a part of my life, now I am just enjoying watching the kids learn and have fun, while becoming good, strong players themselves.”