US man who deflected hockey puck flying directly at boy, 4, hailed as hero

Mother of Nasir Davis calls Andrew Podolak, 33, who averted a potential tragedy in Cleveland, Ohio, ‘a really special person’

An Ohio man who used his arm to deflect a hockey puck flying directly toward a four-year-old boy – sparing him from serious injury or worse – is being heralded as a hero.

The heroic – and coordinated – feat took place last Thursday at a minor league hockey game in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Monsters match was nearly finished when a hockey puck launched into the crowd headed straight for little Nasir Davis.