As part of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, Trevor Bobev will also drop the puck at Saturday’s game
, Senior Correspondent | November 28, 2025 | Sports
It’s not every day a seven-year-old gets to walk into the New Jersey Devils’ locker room, get a jersey with his name on the back, and then step out onto the ice for practice with the team. But Trevor Bobev isn’t your ordinary seven-year-old. He’s a cancer survivor.
On Tuesday, Bobev practiced with the Devils as part of the team’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, a league-wide effort focusing on cancer risk education and research fundraising. The Devils will host its annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night on Nov. 29 at the Prudential Center, where Bobev will watch warmups from the bench and be a part of a ceremonial puck drop before the game.
Bobev was three when he was first diagnosed with Birkitt lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was treated at the Rutgers Cancer Institute, part of the RWJBarnabas Health system, an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News.
“Initially, it was scary hearing your three-year-old has cancer, but at the same time, we had a great support system at the hospital where he was,” said Gina Bobev, Trevor’s mother. “I still keep in contact with his nurses actually. So after the initial shock of it, they were amazing. I can’t say enough good things about them. So the scariness wore off once we knew he was getting the proper treatment and great care.”
To officially become a Devil for a day, Bobev had to sign a one-day contract with the team. And who better to help with that than former Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur?
“I’m sure he’s gonna go home and frame that contract,” Brodeur said. “I think it’s something cool.”
Joanna Gagis joined the NJ Spotlight News team in 2018. As a Senior Correspondent, her coverage includes education, health care, the environment, New Jersey politics and more.
SITEMAP
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
©2026 NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS. All Rights Reserved. 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10019
NJ Spotlight is part of The WNET Group and is operated by WNET, a non-profit organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax ID: 26-2810489
Hockey News