Hockey fan awarded scholarship after notifying man of cancerous mole while attending NHL game

Seattle Kraken fan Nadia Popovici poses for a photo before an NHL hockey game between the Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, in Seattle. Popovici is showing the text of a message she showed to Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian "Red" Hamilton on Oct. 23, 2021, as she sat behind the Canucks' bench during the Kraken's home-opener hockey game. The message expressed Popovici's concern that she believed a mole on the back of Hamilton's neck was cancerous and that he needed to get it checked. A few days later, doctors removed it and biopsy results showed there were cancerous cells in the mole. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (Ted S. Warren, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A hockey fan was awarded a $10,000 scholarship after spotting a man’s cancerous mole and notifying him of it while at an NHL game, NBC News reported.

According to the report, Nadia Popovici, an incoming medical student, was at a Vancouver Canucks vs. Seattle Kraken game when she spotted a small mole on the neck of Brian “Red” Hamilton, the Canucks’ assistant equipment manager

Recommended Videos



At the end of the game, Popovici waved Hamilton over and placed her phone against the plexiglass to show him a message she had typed urging him to get his mole checked out.

After going to see a doctor, Hamilton learned it was a type-2 malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer.

“It was only on the outer layer of my skin. It hadn’t penetrated to the second layer of my skin, and that’s because we caught it so early. It was relatively new,” Hamilton said at a news conference, according to NBC. “She extended my life. I’ve got a wonderful family. I’ve got a wonderful daughter. She saved my life.”

Not knowing the name of the woman who he says saved his life, Hamilton took the Canucks’ social media accounts sharing a letter asking for the internet’s help in finding Popovici.

According to NBC News, the letter caught the attention of Popovici’s mother, who commented on the Facebook post.

Hamilton and Popovici were able to meet in person ahead of her receiving a $10,000 scholarship for medical school from Canucks and Krakens.


About the Author: