Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko takes leave after father killed in bear attack in Siberia

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko, 30, took a leave of absence after his father, Alexander Kuzmenko, 62, was killed in a bear attack during a fishing trip in Siberia. Alexander died Wednesday, one day after the attack. Alexander Kuzmenko was a well-known hockey coach in Russia. According to The Guardian, he was on a fishing trip in Tuva, a landlocked region in Siberia near Russia's southern border with Mongolia, when his group encountered a bear. The forested area along the Krasnaya River where the group was located had previously been restricted due to bear activity, per The Guardian. Emergency response was severely delayed. The group had to travel down the river for four hours before an ambulance could locate them. Alexander Kuzmenko sustained severe facial injuries and was airlifted to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Wednesday. Andrei Kuzmenko had signed a one-year contract with the Penguins in July and was in training camp when the attack occurred. According to The Guardian, he attended practice with the team on the morning of his father's death before departing for Moscow to be with his family. Penguins president and general manager Kyle Andrei Kuzmenko made his NHL debut in 2022 with the Vancouver Canucks after breaking out with CSKA Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League. He had stints with the Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, and Los Angeles Kings before joining Pittsburgh. According to The Guardian, he has 85 goals and 97 assists in 271 NHL appearances. When Kuzmenko left Vancouver in 2023, his father, mother Galina, sister Victoria, and a childhood friend wrote a letter to the Canucks fanbase thanking them for their "warm hospitality towards our son" and "for helping him grow professionally." According to The Guardian, at least 15 people have been killed in bear attacks across Russia this year.