MOSCOW, December 8 (R-Sport) - Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov should patch things up with his ex-girlfriend despite her being his accuser in an ongoing domestic abuse case, his fellow Russian hockey star Ilya Kovalchuk has said.
Varlamov was charged last month in Denver with a count of third-degree assault after his girlfriend Yevgeniya Vavrinyuk alleged he knocked her to the ground, stomped on her chest and dragged her by the hair during an argument last month.
Varlamov is awaiting trial and his ex-girlfriend has a restraining order against him.
“I hope to God it all pans out well and maybe he can somehow reach an agreement with his princess and finally she’d be given a green card, which she really wants,” Kovalchuk said.
The Colorado Avalanche netminder, 25, is widely expected to feature on the Russian roster for February’s Olympics in Sochi alongside Kovalchuk, who left the New Jersey Devils in the summer to return to Russia with SKA St. Petersburg.
Russia’s hockey stars “are all supporting” Varlamov, Kovalchuk said.
On Friday, Varlamov broke his silence regarding the ongoing case to tell a Russian newspaper that he was “sure everything will be fine” and that he would reveal as-yet-unseen evidence.
The maximum punishment facing Varlamov if he is found guilty is two years in county jail, according to the Denver district attorney’s office. A separate accusation of kidnapping has been dropped.
The Russian’s next court date is January 22.
