Nadia Popovici Awarded $10K Scholarship by Canucks, Kraken for Helping Brian Hamilton
January 2, 2022
Nadia Popovici, the Seattle Kraken fan who alerted Vancouver Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian Hamilton from behind the bench to visit a doctor for a possible cancerous mole on his neck, was awarded $10,000 toward her medical school training from both teams on Saturday for her heroic actions.
Ryan S. Clark @ryan_s_clarkKraken and Canucks are giving $10,000 to Nadia Popovici toward her medical school funding for what she did for Canucks trainer Brian “Red” Hamilton. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SeaKraken?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SeaKraken</a> <a href="https://t.co/nBi0tH0mVG">pic.twitter.com/nBi0tH0mVG</a>
During the Kraken's inaugural home game at Climate Pledge Arena on Oct. 23, Popovici began banging on the glass to get Hamilton's attention. When he finally looked at her, she flashed a message on her cellphone telling him he had a possibly cancerous growth on his neck.
Hamilton then went to Canucks team doctor Jim Bovard, who took a biopsy of the mole, which revealed a malignant melanoma. The melanoma hadn't penetrated far into Hamilton's skin, but things could've taken a turn for the worse had it gone unnoticed for another couple of years.
Hamilton credits Popovici, who is going into medical school next fall, for saving his life.
