Andrei Kuzmenko is back with the Penguins after stepping away following his father's death

King Jemison, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Oct 2, 2026

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PITTSBURGH — Andrei Kuzmenko returned to practice for the Penguins on Friday. The 30-year-old winger traveled back to Russia last week after the sudden death of his father.

His father, Alexander, was killed by a bear while on a fishing trip in southern Siberia. He was 62. His funeral was held Monday.

“I want to say thank you for everyone who supported me,” Kuzmenko said Friday. “And I want to say thank you [to] the hockey world because I’ve seen the messages.”

Kuzmenko shared more details about what happened to his father. He said Alexander was “permit fishing” with friends and was in the water when a bear came up from behind and attacked him.

Kuzmenko said his father was in the water fighting with the bear for one hour and 10 minutes. Alexander was still alive for two days after the attack before he died from his injuries.

Russian media reports said Alexander and his companions were fishing in a banned area, but Kuzmenko indicated that wasn’t the case. There have reportedly been a record number of bear attacks in Russia this year.

Kuzmenko seemed to be in good spirits Friday, still flashing the smile he wore throughout training camp.

“Now, I’m happy to go back to Pittsburgh,” he said. “I’m happy. I missed everyone. I go back, back to reality, back to my job. And let’s go. Keep working. I missed hockey, really.”

Kuzmenko had worn No. 10 during training camp. But he switched to No. 62 upon his return to honor his father and mother, as she was born in 1962.

Kuzmenko skated on a line with Ben Kindel and Connor Dewar on Friday. Kuzmenko also joined the second power-play unit ahead of Saturday’s home opener against the Montreal Canadiens.

“It was great to have him back,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “It was just heartbreaking. He’s obviously been in our thoughts here while he was away. And really happy that he’s back here, just in the building, around his teammates, getting to skate.”

Kuzmenko is back on Pittsburgh’s active roster.

Penguins defenseman Ilya Solovyov, who has known Kuzmenko well for years, said it was good to see Kuzmenko smiling and laughing upon his return.

That’s how he’s always been, Solovyov said.

“He’s just this guy who loved to be positive and every time in a good mood,” Solovyov said. “ ... You guys all know. You see the positive guy and you just start smiling yourself, no matter what.”