Iván Zenchenko, 32, was playing defense when the puck tore through his Bauer Re-Akt 55 helmet as if it were cardboard.
The blow occurred on September 27, 2025, at the LA Kings Valley Ice Center. The helmet split open, the puck struck his head directly, and the ice ended up covered in blood. Videos show the crowd screaming as the Russian, who has lived in Los Angeles for less than two years, got up and everyone saw the extent of the cut.
He was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital with lacerations and a hematoma. Since that day, according to the lawsuit he filed with his wife Sofía, Iván has lost his memory and visual coordination and has never returned to the ice. His attorney, Paul Sigelman, says he can remove a part from a car he is repairing and, seconds later, not remember where it came from. Sofía says they lost their sex life and companionship as a couple, and she is now the one supporting the household by working as a housekeeper. The lawsuit, filed against Bauer Hockey and the Pure Hockey store in Anaheim, seeks millions of dollars in damages that, according to Sigelman, still have no exact figure.
