Andrei Kuzmenko is dealing with a devastating personal loss as he heads toward the 2026-27 season. His father, Alexander Kuzmenko, was killed in a bear attack while visiting the Tuva Republic in southern Siberia, according to a report from Russian outlet Ren.tv.
The report said Alexander Kuzmenko was bitten in the head after a bear suddenly came out of the forest. He suffered “severe facial injuries, including extensive tissue damage.”
Doctors were unable to save him. He was 62.
Alexander Kuzmenko was known as a hockey coach and had worked with KHL players Nikita Korostelev and Daniil Grigoryev, among others. He was reportedly on a fishing trip in the area when the attack happened.
A ban had been put in place along the Bolshoy Yenisey River just days earlier after more bears were seen approaching the wooded area. Ren.tv also reported that 2026 has been a record year for bear attacks on humans in Russia, with at least 15 deaths in surrounding areas. Experts linked the rise to “poor harvest of berries and pine nuts in the taiga: without their usual food before hibernation, the animals migrate en masse to populated areas, landfills, summer cottages, and farms in search of food.”
Kuzmenko, who is entering his fifth NHL season, joined the league in 2022 after playing for CSKA Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL. He spent two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, had a brief run with the Philadelphia Flyers, and later got his career back on track with the Los Angeles Kings.
That resurgence led to a one-year, $5 million deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2026.
In his NHL career, Kuzmenko has put up 182 points - 85 goals and 97 assists - in 271 regular-season games. He also has six points, with three goals and three assists, in seven playoff games with the Kings.
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