Penguins forward's dad passes away following horrific bear attack

Tragedy struck the family of Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko, as it was sadly revealed that Kuzmenko's father passed away after an unfortunate run-in with a bear.

Coming out of Russia is some pretty sad news for the hockey world. While it wasn't a former player, or executive, it was nonetheless tragic and arguably much, much more important. It was revealed on social media that Andrei Kuzmenko's father Alexander had passed away - under seriously frightening circumstances.

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Andrei Kuzmemko's family struck with tragedy after bear encounter

The Penguin forward's father was fishing with friends in the Todzhinsky district, on the Bolshoi Yenisei (Great River) when he encountered a wild bear. As the men were ashore, they ran into the bear who attacked Kuzmenko. The rest of the group was able to distract and scare the bear off, but not without serious damage.

Kuzmenko was rushed to the hospital with severe shock and facial injuries, however sadly succumbed to those injuries shortly thereafter. The 62-year-old was a hockey coach who was a key part of why his son Andrei was able to find himself in the NHL.

Andrei, 30, is part of the Penguins organization and has spent four years in the NHL with Los Angeles, Calgary, Philadelphia and Vancouver and signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh this past summer.

Kuzmenko's passing shows the power of nature

Obviously this is a tragic event for the family and friends of Kuzmenko, but it should be stated that bears rarely, if ever, attack humans. We don't know the logistics of the situation, but there could have been a nearby dwelling or cave that housed bear cubs, which may have posed an indirect threat that Kuzmenko was unaware of.

There is also a chance that the bear itself was suffering from malnutrition, and records and observations have shown precedence where a bear will attack a human if they are desperate enough to view them as prey.

It also could have just been a sudden encounter, where the bear was surprised and caught off guard. Obviously we won't ever know the true circumstances around the situation, but there are potential reasons that caused the bear to attack that were completely out of Kuzmenko's control.

Nonetheless, it's a tragic accident that no one could have anticipated, and our prayers and thoughts go out to the family of Andrei Kuzmenko during this difficult time.

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