NHL’s Andrei Kuzmenko steps away from team after father killed in Siberia bear attack

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko has stepped away from the team after his father, Alexander Kuzmenko, was killed in a bear attack in Siberia this week.

REN TV was the first to report the death of the 62-year-old, who was a well-known hockey coach in Russia.

Kuzmenko was with a group on a fishing trip on Tuesday in Tuva, a landlocked region in Siberia near Russia’s southern border with Mongolia, according to REN TV’s reports. The group encountered a bear that attacked Kuzmenko.

Ambulances were reportedly delayed in reaching the group because they were in a densely forested area along the Krasnaya River. REN TV said the group traveled down the river for four hours before an ambulance could locate them. Kuzmenko was airlifted to a hospital with severe facial injuries before he was pronounced dead on Wednesday.

“The Pittsburgh Penguins organization was deeply saddened this morning to learn of the passing of Andrei Kuzmenko’s father, Alexander,” team president and general manager Kyle Dubas said in a statement on Thursday. “Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the Kuzmenko family and their loved ones as they grieve the loss of Alexander. We ask that the privacy of Andrei and the Kuzmenko family be respected at this time.

“Andrei chose to be surrounded by his teammates and practice with the team this morning before returning to Moscow to be with his family this afternoon. Andrei and the Kuzmenko family have the full support of the Penguins organization during this time.”

REN TV reported that the forested area where the group went had previously been restricted because of bear activity. The outlet said at least 15 people have been killed in bear attacks across Russia this year.

Andrei Kuzmenko, 30, signed for the Penguins in July. After breaking out with CSKA Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League, he made his NHL debut in 2022 with the Vancouver Canucks. He also had stints with the Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings before joining Pittsburgh. He has 85 goals and 97 assists in 271 NHL appearances.

After Andrei Kuzmenko left the Canucks in 2023, his father, mother Galina, sister Victoria and a childhood friend wrote a letter to the city’s fans thanking them for their “warm hospitality towards our son” and “for helping him grow professionally”.