WINTER SPORTS WORLD: Hockey fan’s alert discovery and clever gesture lead to Vancouver Canucks team employee receiving medical treatment for cancer

As National Hockey League (NHL) players express their disappointment about losing their opportunity to play at the Beijing Olympics, an unfortunate situation for all involved, the most welcome sports related story of the new year comes out of the same league.

It doesn’t involve players, victories or even action on the ice.

It was an act of human kindness – a sudden, unexpected and astute gesture that briefly transpired during a game between the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, an encounter Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian “Red” Hamilton is forever thankful for.

As Hamilton was leaving the team’s bench for the locker room, he noticed a woman waving and pressing her phone up against the plexiglass. The message, written in colored and bold fonts, expressed Nadia Popovici’s concern that a small mole on the back of Hamilton’s neck was cancerous and he should have it checked.

In his bewilderment, Hamilton dismissed the gesture and continued onward to the locker room without acknowledging her. Fortunately, Hamilton later consulted with a team doctor and ultimately a specialist, confirming Popovici’s suspicions.

A biopsy revealed it was type-2 malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer, because it was detected early, could be easily removed and treated, as Hamilton did.

“She extended my life. I’ve got a wonderful family. I’ve got a wonderful daughter. She saved my life,” Hamilton said about the 22-year-old Popovici, during a news conference explaining to the sports world what had occurred on the night of the October 23 game.

“She really went over the top to get my attention,” said Hamilton, a Canucks employee for nearly 20 years. “How she saw it boggles my mind. It wasn’t very big. I wear a jacket. I wear a radio on the back of my jacket that hooks on so the cords are there.

“She’s a hero,” he continued. “And the words out of the doctor’s mouth were that if I ignored that for four to five years, I wouldn’t be here.”

On January 1, Hamilton and the Canucks organization released a message on social media explaining what had transpired and asking the hockey community to help them identify the unknown Seattle fan so they can express their gratitude.

“To this woman I am trying to find, you changed my life and I want to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH,” the social media message read.

“Problem is I don’t know who you are or where you are from,” the statement continued. “I do know that you were sitting behind the Canucks bench the night the Seattle Kraken played their first ever home game. That evening, Oct. 23, and the message that you showed me on your cell phone will forever be etched in my brain and has made a true life-changing direction for me and my family. Your instincts were right and that mole on the back of my neck was a malignant melanoma and thanks to your persistence and the quick work of our doctors, it is now gone.”

The Canucks reported that the internet community quickly helped them to locate Nadia, just three hours later. During the second meeting between the two teams in Seattle on January 1, it was arranged for them to meet for the first time, 90 minutes before the game. In an emotional encounter, he expressed his sincere appreciation to Popovici for helping to save his life.

“I understand that I’m part of the story, but she needs to know that she’s the story,” Hamilton said. “She’s the person that did this. She saved the life. She needs to know her efforts were valid and bang on.”

“This entire experience has been so rare and I will cherish it,” said Ms. Popovici, a volunteer nursing assistant and future medical student.

In our ongoing, tumultuous and unpredictable COVID-19 world that persists into 2022, needless to say, we all need to witness, be part of, and be inspired by more random acts of kindness and heartwarming stories as was the case between the two strangers, Brian and Nadia, who are now inextricably bonded together.

It’s an extraordinary story. A surreal encounter. A moment for all to cherish and have warm and fuzzy feelings about.

It was revealed at the January 1 game the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken were jointly awarding Popovici a $10,000 scholarship towards medical school to show appreciation for her actions.

A Canucks social media message to Popovici read: “Nadia, your kindness, compassion and the lengths you went to help another person is admirable. We already know you will make a great doctor upon your completion of medical school.”

On the memorable January 1 evening that Hamilton and Popovici met for the very first time, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the expansion Seattle Kraken, 5-2. The Canucks posted the photo of Hamilton and Popovici taking the selfie together and titled it: “The biggest win tonight.”

Here’s hoping for more wins of this kind in 2022.

Follow Brian on Twitter: @Brian_Pinelli