Penguins F Andrei Kuzmenko switches jersey to No. 62 to honor father killed in bear attack in Russia

Pittsburgh Penguins player Andrei Kuzmenko is altering his jersey number to 62 in remembrance of his father, Alexander, who perished in a bear attack in Russia at the age of 62. Kuzmenko, a 30-year-old forward who signed a one-year, $5 million contract with Pittsburgh last summer, donned his father's former number 10 before. He explained that his father was fishing with friends in Siberia when a bear stood behind him and launched an attack, which lasted for an hour and ten minutes before the father eventually succumbed two days later.

Kuzmenko acknowledged the profound impact of his father's sudden death, describing it as a "big shock." His mother was born in 1962. The Pittsburgh team faces Montreal in their home opener on Saturday.