There was a scary moment reported earlier this week by the Pittsburgh Penguins: Forward Ben Kindel collapsed 10 minutes in the flight the team took from Salt Lake City on Tuesday. He was attended to right away with oxygen and regained consciousness. The plane landed back in Utah in an emergency landing and Kindel was admitted to a hospital, and now he's back with the team.
So what happened? Per general manager Kyle Dubas to reporters on Thursday, he suffered a vasovagal episode that caused the player to faint. What is that exactly? Here's the answer via the Mayo Clinic: "The vasovagal syncope trigger causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly. That leads to reduced blood flow to your brain, causing you to briefly lose consciousness."
Kyle Dubas spoke to the media this morning on the status of Ben Kindel. pic.twitter.com/YtnHDTkILm
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 22, 2026
Scary. He's being placed on injured reserve, and captain Sidney Crosby spoke about seeing Kindel at the facility after the frightening moment.
Having Ben Kindel at the facility was a lift for the team#Pens Sidney Crosby pic.twitter.com/gb4ELlJDH0
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) October 22, 2026
Glad he's OK.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What is a 'vasovagal episode' that Penguins' Ben Kindel suffered?
