SAN JOSE -- The entire sports world is reeling in the wake of Kobe Bryant's shocking death, and the NHL is no different.
Evander Kane and the Sharks return from the NHL All-Star break to face the visiting Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center on Monday night, and while the week-long break was much-needed, it ended on a heartbreaking note. As the team reconvened for practice Sunday, the news already had made its way around the locker room.
"I was stunned," Kane described following San Jose's morning skate on Monday. "It was something that ... I was in disbelief. I had just landed actually, late morning yesterday before practice and looked at my phone, had a few text messages from friends and was stunned to hear that news."
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE Kane didn't know Bryant. They weren't friends or even acquaintances. But like so many others, Sunday's tragic events struck a chord with the Sharks' forward.
"It was weird, the kind of emotion I had to it, just because I don't know Kobe personally. Never met him before. But obviously, was a fan of his as a kid and as I've been a professional athlete ... even more specifically after his basketball career. The type of success he has had off the court, and the type of father and family man he was ... it was heartwarming to see just the way he interacted with them, especially his daughters. And then to find out that one of his daughters, Gigi, was on board with him, it hits home for anybody who is a father or who has kids.
"The way they passed away was pretty gruesome, so to think -- to put your mind in where their headspaces might have been at that time -- it's tough to do. You hope and you pray that his wife Vanessa and his other three girls can move on and be okay."
Kane can speak to the challenge of moving on from tragedy. Last March, he and his wife lost their unborn daughter, Eva, 26 weeks into the pregnancy. He has a tattoo on his right arm in her honor.
[RELATED: How Kobe's presence transcended NBA and into life itself]
San Jose Sharks
Find the latest San Jose Sharks news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
"There are so many precious moments in life and precious people around you, it makes you take a step back and realize what's important," Kane said of Bryant. "It's a big loss for a lot of people. He's going to be greatly missed, that's for sure."