- Andrei Kuzmenko rejoined the Penguins for practice Friday, 10 days after his father’s death
- The winger is ditching No. 10 for a new number with family meaning
- Read below for Kuzmenko’s full statement video and when he’ll make his Penguins debut
Andrei Kuzmenko is back with the Penguins.
He returned to practice Friday, 10 days after his father, Alexander, was killed in a bear attack while fishing in Russia. He’ll also have a different number on his back. Kuzmenko switched from No. 10 to No. 62.
His father was 62 when he died, and his mother was born in 1962. Kuzmenko said No. 10 never meant much to him, and his usual No. 96 wasn’t available in Pittsburgh, so he went with the number that did.
Before practice, the 30-year-old read a statement of about three minutes to reporters in the dressing room. He didn’t take questions. He said he wanted to address everything one time and clear up the false stories that had been floating around.
According to Kuzmenko, his father was standing in the water when the bear came at him from behind. Alexander fought it off and was still alive an hour and 10 minutes later.
From there, Kuzmenko turned to the support he got over the last week and a half.
“Thank you for everyone who supported me,” Kuzmenko said. “I’m happy to go back to Pittsburgh. I missed everyone. I go back to reality, back to my job. And let’s go, keep working. I missed hockey.”
Watch Kuzmenko’s full statement:
He also thanked the hockey world and people back in Russia for all the messages, and apologized for not being able to answer everyone on Instagram.
Pittsburgh’s last look at Kuzmenko came on Sept. 24. He skated with his teammates that morning before flying to Moscow to be with his family.
Without him, the Penguins opened the season by blanking the Flyers 7-0 on Wednesday. Kuzmenko was asked about the season ahead and brought up that win.
“Great start after first game,” he said. “I think it’ll be good this season because I believe in this team.”
The one-year, $5 million deal he signed on July 1 made Pittsburgh his fifth NHL team since 2023. Injuries cut into his lone season with the Kings, where he put up 25 points in 52 games. He said he had a good summer of preparation and just wants to play.
Kuzmenko is expected to make his Penguins debut Saturday against the Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET, per NHL.com. He’ll be wearing 62 when he does.
