The father of Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic died unexpectedly in his hometown of Vancouver last week, the team announced Saturday.

In a statement released by the team, Lucic said he learned of his father’s passing last Wednesday.

“My family and I am very grateful for the outpouring of support from the hockey community, friends and fans from around the world,” Lucic said. “We kindly ask everyone to respect our privacy during this difficult and sad time."

Team president Cam Neely also released a statement.

"On behalf of the Jacobs family and the entire Boston Bruins organization I would like to express our deepest condolences to Milan and his family on the passing of his father, Dobro,” Neely said. “Our thoughts will be with the Lucic family during this time, and we will be here to offer them support in any way that we can."