Coquitlam NHLer could be back at practice as early as next week

Coquitlam’s Ben Kindel is back in Pittsburgh where he’s undergoing further testing to determine the cause of medical incident he suffered on Tuesday. The 19-year-old forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins collapsed on the NHL team’s plane about 10 minutes into its flight from Salt Lake City, Utah, back to Pittsburgh, said Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas in a media conference on Thursday, Oct.

22. Dubas said Kindel experienced what’s been diagnosed as a “vasovagal episode.” According to the Mayo Clinic website, that’s a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure that can occur when the body overreacts to certain triggers like extreme emotional distress, standing for long periods of time, heat exposure or fear of bodily injury.

It can also happen without a trigger. Dubas said Kindel quickly regained consciousness on the plane and was given oxygen, but a decision was made to return to Salt Lake City. The flight was met by an ambulance and paramedics and Kindel was transported to the University of Utah Hospital.

Kindel spent the night there and was cleared to return to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, along with members of the Penguins medical staff as well as assistant coach Nick Bonino and assistant general manager Jason Spezza, who’d stayed with him in Utah. Dubas said Kindel was scheduled for more testing and further treatment on Thursday.

He added the team has placed the player on its injured reserve list while it plots “a safe return to play” under “strict guidelines.” Dubas said Kindel could resume training as soon as this weekend, and could be back at practice early next week. “We’ll provide those updates as we go along.” Dubas said Kindel was “very clearly shaken” by the episode and “sorting through it.” Teammates were also provided resources to help them cope.

“You’d much rather talk about the team playing well or poorly and you get reminded every once in a while there’s things that have higher stakes,” said Dubas. Penguins’ players said they were glad to see Kindel back. “We’re happy that everything is alright and we’re moving on from that,” said defenseman Erik Karlsson following a morning skate ahead of the team’s game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

“Its’ a scary situation that everyone went through and we’re happy Kindy is alright and he’s back with us.” “We’re just happy to see him and know he’s doing well, that’s the most important thing,” said Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby. “It’s family, these are people we spend a lot of time with and seeing something like that puts things in perspective.” Kindel is in his second season with the Penguins, which drafted him 11th overall in the 2025 NHL entry draft.

He scored 17 goals and 35 points in 77 games in his rookie season. In nine games so far this season, he has two goals and two assists. In Pittsburgh’s game against the Utah Mammoth, Kindel played 18:53 and he had one shot on net.

Kindel is the son of former pro soccer players Steve Kindel and Sara Maglio. Steve Kindel played for the Vancouver Whitecaps and the old Vancouver 86ers, as well as Canada’s national men’s team. Maglio is the executive director of the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club who played five seasons on the Whitecaps’ women’s team and appeared in five matches with Canada’s national team.