A woman found in the Seattle hotel room of Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin last Saturday needed to be taken to hospital via ambulance due to her worrying level of intoxication.
That is according to The Denver Post, which cites a report from the Seattle Police Department claiming the Avalanche team doctor called for assistance after discovering how intoxicated the woman was.
Nichushkin did not play in the third game of Colorado’s first-round playoff series against the Kraken that night and hasn’t been seen with the team since. Seattle leads the series 3-2 at the moment, with Game 6 set for this Friday night.
A team spokesman declined comment after being asked whether the player’s absence is related to the above but confirmed that the 28-year-old is not with the team.
According to the report, team staff found the woman when they went to check on the forward’s room at the Four Seasons in downtown Seattle. The team doctor called 911 as it appeared that the woman was in too bad a state to leave the hotel safely in a cab.
Said female, also 28, was not identified. But she is said to have told the police she’s Ukrainian-born living in Russia and “should never have come to the United States and that some guy took her passport and that he was a bad person.”
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She was taken to the hospital after the lawmen determined she was too intoxicated to take care of herself.
A spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department noted that there is no criminal investigation ongoing. The woman is understood to have hit the team doctor but he did not want to press charges.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar also said that the player’s absence from the team is not disciplinary or linked to legal issues, while a representative for Nichushkin has insisted that the player is away from the team due to personal reasons.
