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Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko changes jersey to honor late father killed in bear attack

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Cite

Reigle, M. (2026, October 3). Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko changes jersey to honor late father killed in bear attack. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/penguins-forward-andrei-kuzmenko-changes-jersey-honor-late-father-killed-bear-attack

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-03 · by Matt Reigle

Quick Summary

Andrei Kuzmenko, a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, recently changed his jersey number from 10 to 62 to honor his father who died in a bear attack last month in Siberia. The 30-year-old explained during a media appearance at the team's practice facility that he switched numbers because it holds personal significance as his late father was 62 years old and his mother was born in 1962. Kuzmenko has played in 271 NHL games since joining the league in 2022, scoring 85 goals and 97 assists for a total of 182 points.
Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Andrei Kuzmenko, a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, has changed his jersey number to 62 to honor his father, Alexander, who died in a bear attack last week in Russia. Alexander was on a fishing trip in the Tyva section of Siberia when he was attacked by a bear and fought it for an hour and ten minutes before eventually succumbing two days later. Andrei returned to practice with the Penguins on Friday after attending his father's funeral in Moscow. He signed a one-year, $5 million contract with Pittsburgh this past summer and expressed that his mother was born in 1962, adding personal significance to the number change. The Penguins are set to play their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Written for “Kuzmenko Honors Father” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Kuzmenko Honors Father
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Penguins F Andrei Kuzmenko switches jersey to No. 62 to honor father killed in bear attack in Russia Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 64/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6630 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Matt Reigle
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Topics

NHL Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins the Montreal Canadiens the Vancouver Canucks

Subjects

Kuzmenko PERSON · 5× NHL ORG · 2× Penguins ORG · 2× Alexander PERSON · 1× Andrei Kuzmenko PERSON · 1× Calgary Flames ORG · 1× Philadelphia Flyers ORG · 1× Pittsburgh Penguins ORG · 1× the Montreal Canadiens ORG · 1× the Vancouver Canucks ORG · 1×

Narrative

Pittsburgh Penguins player Andrei Kuzmenko returned to the team on Friday after taking some time in the wake of his father's tragic death in a bear attack last month in Siberia.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
🔮 Now, he will wear No. 62, which, according to the Associated Press, carries a lot of personal significance.
2026-10-03 · Fox News
Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko changes jersey to honor late father killed in bear attack · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 1 hedged)

Pittsburgh Penguins player Andrei Kuzmenko returned to the team on Friday after taking some time in the wake of his father's tragic death in a bear attack last month in Siberia. asserted
Kuzmenko → return → Siberia
Now, the 30-year-old, who is in his first season with the Penguins, has decided to honor his father, Alexander, by switching his jersey number. asserted
who → decide → number
Kuzmenko addressed the media at the team's practice facility ahead of Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens. asserted
Kuzmenko → address → Canadiens
An impressively composed Kuzmenko, given the circumstances, told the media that he wanted to speak to them because he understood that reporters have a job to do. asserted
reporters → give → job
From there, he explained the circumstances of his father's death, which occurred on a fishing trip. asserted
which → explain → trip
"My father go permit fishing with friends, and he stayed in the water," he said. asserted
he → go → water
And my father fight (the) bear one hour, 10 minutes and he still lived after two days." asserted
he → fight → days
He also thanked everyone for the support he received in the wake of the tragedy. asserted
he → thank → tragedy
As for his sweater number, Kuzmenko had worn No. 96 in all of his previous NHL stops with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. asserted
Kuzmenko → wear → Canucks
Upon signing with the Penguins, Kuzmenko was preparing to use No. 10. asserted
Kuzmenko → sign → .
Now, he will wear No. 62, which, according to the Associated Press, carries a lot of personal significance. uncertain
which → wear → significance
His late father was 62 years old at the time of his death, while his mother was born in 1962. asserted
mother → bear → 1962
Kuzmenko spent time in the KHL before arriving in the NHL ahead of the 2022-23 season, and has gone on to play in 271 games. asserted
Kuzmenko → spend → games
In that time, he has racked up 182 points (85G, 97A). asserted
he → rack → points
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