Penguins Player Ben Kindel Hospitalized After Medical Emergency On Plane

Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel experienced an unspecified medical emergency on the team’s flight home after a 5-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday morning.

The flight was returning to Pittsburgh after a four-game road trip. Kindel had the medical emergency right after takeoff, which made it easy to return to Salt Lake City for further treatment, even though team doctors tended to him on the plane.

The situation doesn’t seem to be serious. The team says he was conscious during the incident and stable.

Kindel, 19, was then taken to Salt Lake City Hospital, where doctors evaluated him further. The team reportedly stayed in Utah for hours after the incident before departing Tuesday night.

First reports suggested that the medical episode was a seizure, but the publication that reported this issued a correction saying that it was not necessarily a seizure, without denying that it could have been.

Kindel played 18 minutes and 53 seconds in Monday night’s loss. He almost scored the game-tying goal in the waning seconds, which would have sent the game to overtime and scored the Penguins a point in the standings. The second-year player has four points this season.

The team released a statement about the incident, then canceled Tuesday’s practice and made skating optional.

The Penguins likely won’t release much information in the short term beyond wishing Kindel well and holding off on a timetable until more information comes out about his condition. Kindel looked healthy after the game, chatting with other players in the hallway.

Rumors from NHL and Penguins insiders suggest he will be okay, but no one has released any information yet, citing the team and Kindel’s privacy.