Andrei Kuzmenko Changes Number to Honor Father
The Penguins forward switched from No. 10 to No. 62 after his father died in a bear attack while fishing in Tuva on 24 September.
Andrei Kuzmenko has changed his number at the Pittsburgh Penguins, switching from 10 to 62 in tribute to his father, who died last week.
Alexander Kuzmenko, 62, was fishing with friends on the Bolshoy Yenisei river in Tuva when a bear attacked him on 24 September. He was taken to hospital with severe injuries but could not be saved. The head of Tuva's game and hunting oversight body, Artysh Salchak, said on 28 September that hunters had since tracked down and killed the bear.
Kuzmenko is 30 and has played in the NHL since 2022, with spells at Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings before Pittsburgh. His father coached in the KHL and also worked with his son during his development, according to earlier reports.
Two of his former clubs open the new NHL campaign without a point on the board. Philadelphia sit 12th and have yet to play a game, while Vancouver, who host Calgary in pre-season and dropped a 3-1 defeat on 23 September, are seventh after four matches with no points. Los Angeles are fifth, also without a point from four games.
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