Fan identified who told Canucks equipment manager Brian Hamilton about his cancerous mole
On Saturday in a letter on Twitter, Vancouver Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian "Red" Hamilton said that he was seeking help to identify a fan that detected a cancerous mole on his neck back in late-October.
Just hours after that letter was posted, the fan was identified. Her name is Nadia Popovici, a 22-year-old Seattle resident who is about to go to medical school and has season tickets for the Kraken.
"I spotted some of the classic signs, you know, irregular borders, a little bit of discoloration and a pretty large diameter," Popovici told CBC News. "I thought, you know, it can't hurt just to say something."
In a press conference earlier on Saturday, Hamilton said, "She saved my life. She didn't take me out of a burning car, like in the big stories, but she took me out of a slow fire."
"I'm just so happy that he has gotten it removed and we can move forward," Popovici said. "Hopefully he lives a very, very long life and we can all celebrate this moment for a while."
Hamilton said that the melanoma is now gone thanks to the quick work of doctors, but he said that he wants to connect with the fan that changed his life and he'll get that opportunity on Saturday night in Seattle when the Canucks battle the Kraken. Popovici says she is looking forward to that moment.
"I'm so excited that I actually get to see him," she said. "I'm just...I'm going to be speechless. I already know."
The two met at the game and made sure to get a picture together.
The both Seattle and Vancouver have agreed to give Popovici $10,000 toward her medical school funding.
Source: CBC News.
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APRIL 26, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nathan MacKinnon | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Bowen Byram | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Peyton Krebs | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Janis Jerome Moser | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Joel Edmundson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kasperi Kapanen | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sean Kuraly | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cale Makar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Beck Malenstyn | 1 | - | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||