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Canuck staffer saved from cancer thanks to Kraken fan – The Province

Published

3 years ago

January 1, 2022

Brian “Red” Hamilton discovered a malignant melanoma on his neck after a Seattle Kraken fan got his attention during an October NHL game.

Author of the article:

Patrick Johnston

Publishing date:

Jan 01, 2022 • 16 minutes ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation

Vancouver Canucks Equipment Manager Pat O’Neill (left) and Brian Hamilton, Assistant Equipment Manager prior to playing Ottawa Senators in NHL hockey at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, January 27, 2021. Hamilton discovered a malignant melanoma on his neck after a Seattle Kraken fan got his attention during an October NHL game. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Vancouver Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian Hamilton didn’t realize he had a cancerous growth on his neck until he visited Seattle in October.

But an eagle-eyed fan sitting behind the Canucks’ bench for the Kraken’s inaugural home game on Oct. 23 at Climate Pledge Arena saw something that concerned her.

And now Hamilton wants to say thanks to her, and let the world know the story.

After the Canucks shared a message on social media Saturday morning asking for help in tracking down the woman, it didn’t take long for word to spread and for the team and her family to connect.

“I’m happy that story’s there, not for me, but for her because the world needs to know that this woman exists, and she’s a hero, and we need to celebrate her and people like her,” Hamilton said on Saturday.

About an hour after the Canucks posted the message to Twitter, a reply came in suggesting the family of Nadia Popovici was looking to make contact. The team was able to speak with her and Popovici was able to meet Hamilton before Saturday’s game.

Popovici was sitting behind the bench and got Hamilton’s attention as he was rearranging iPads, gloves and extra skate blades between periods at that October game.

Popovici had written a note on her phone that said she was concerned about a mole she’d noticed on his neck. She made the text on the screen large and colourful, obviously hoping he’d notice it. He finally saw it but didn’t think much of it initially.

“It had irregular borders and it was discoloured and fairly large,” Popovici, 22, told Postmedia Saturday.

Popovici’s going into medical school next fall — she’s been accepted by several schools but hasn’t chosen one yet — and had spent some time helping out in an oncology ward, so she was familiar with what cancers like Hamilton’s look like.

Popovici was at the October game with her mom. She and her mom, Yukyung, are lifelong Canucks fans, though they have thrown their hockey dollars into Kraken tickets since the NHL arrived.

“My mom is a huge Canucks fan, a huge Canucks fan before the Kraken,” Popovici said.

It was a special thrill for them to be behind the Canucks’ bench for the Kraken’s home opener.

“We were going back and forth on what jersey to wear,” Popovici said, admitting they settled on the home team’s colours that night.

“But I’m a Canucks fan, I’ve cheered for them forever.”

Popovici and her family lived in Vancouver before her parents split up and she and her mom moved south to Washington. A dual citizen, she graduated from the University of Washington in 2019.

Hamilton told reporters Saturday that Popovici “changed his life.”

“She extended my life. I’ve got a wonderful family, a wonderful daughter. She saved my life. She didn’t take me out of a burning car — like a big story — but she took me out of a slow fire,” he said.

“I want you all to know that this isn’t about me. It’s about an incredible person taking the time to notice something concerning and then finding a way to point it out during the chaos of a hockey game. Going to great lengths to get my attention from the stands while I did my job on the Canucks bench,” he said in his original message.

Hamilton said the message Popovici to relayed to him on her phone will forever be etched in his mind, even if he didn’t process it at first.

“Her persistence is what saved my life.”

Hamilton, 47, said the message from Popovici lingered in his mind. Once he was back home in Vancouver, he asked his wife Jess to look at the mole and she agreed it looked unusual.

He was amazed the Seattle fan had seen it in the first place, given he’s always wearing a jacket and an earpiece that would partly obstruct the mole.

Three days later he talked to Canucks’ team doctor Dr. Jim Bovard, who agreed the mole looked concerning and took a biopsy. Within days, it had been completely removed by a specialist, who said it was cancerous — a malignant melanoma.

The specialist told Hamilton that the melanoma hadn’t penetrated far into his skin, but it would have been a life-threatening situation if he had neglected it for another few years,

“It’s a pretty surreal phone call.”

Hamilton was thrilled about the idea of meeting Popovici. The Canucks invited her to the arena early on Saturday so she could meet Hamilton and have dinner with him.

“I’m so happy his wife encouraged him to get the mole checked out,” Popovici said.

Hamilton said he hoped his message would prompt others to be aware of blemishes or moles on their skin.

Hamilton, born-and-raised in Richmond and now a Langley resident, has worked more than 1,000 games over the last two decades for the Canucks after spending more than a decade working for the B.C. Lions.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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