SHOCKING TRAGEDY

NHL Star Takes Leave of Absence After Dad Killed by Bear

The Russian hockey coach was on a fishing trip when a bear attacked him.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko is taking a leave of absence from the team to be with his family after his father was killed in a bear attack. Alexander Kuzmenko, 62, was on a fishing trip with a group of people in southern Siberia when a bear emerged from the forest and attacked him, mauling his head and face. The group was in a remote area that Russian officials had previously restricted because of increased bear activity. Kuzmenko had to be transported by boat along the Krasnaya River for four hours until he could receive medical attention. He was flown to a hospital, where he died later that day. Kuzmenko was a longtime Russian hockey coach. “The Pittsburgh Penguins organization was deeply saddened, this morning, to learn of the passing of Andri Kuzmenko’s father, Alexander,” Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said in a statement. “Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the Kuzmenko family and their loved ones as they grieve the loss of Alexander.