Avalance goaltender arrest: Girlfriend said Semyon Varlamov stomped on her

By Kieran Nicholson and Sadie GurmanDenver Post

Posted: 11/01/2013 09:03:16 AM PDT

Updated: 11/01/2013 09:14:15 AM PDT

A Denver judge on Thursday granted Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov permission to travel with the team while he faces felony charges that he drunkenly attacked his girlfriend in the downtown Denver apartment they shared.

She told Denver police he came home drunk Monday and kicked her, knocked her down, dragged her by her hair and told her in Russian that 'if this were Russia, he would have beat her more.'

Varlamov, who maintained his innocence through his agent, posted $5,000 bond by noon and was released from the Downtown Denver Detention Center. He traveled to Dallas with the team, which plays the Stars on Friday night.

The Avalanche did not speak directly about the accusations but had no

plans to recall another goaltender from the minor leagues.

Varlamov's girlfriend, Evgeniya Vavrinyuk, 24, told reporters that the star goalie laughed while he beat her.

Varlamov, 25, appeared in court in a yellow jumpsuit and alongside an interpreter as the judge imposed a restraining order barring him from contacting Vavrinyuk. He faces charges of second-degree kidnapping, a felony, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

She told a detective that Varlamov kicked her in the chest and knocked her down, then stomped on her. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of her bedroom and held her face to the floor, the police affidavit says. He also grabbed her by her arms, shook her and pushed her down again, she told police.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Vavrinyuk pointed to her chest, stomach, head, neck and arms -- places where she said he had left bruises. In a police report, a detective had made note of bruises.

'While he was doing it, he was having a lot of fun, he was laughing. I was in horrible pain,' Vavrinyuk said, speaking in Russian through Diana Senova, an interpreter and the fiancée of Vavrinyuk's attorney, Robert Abrams.

Vavrinyuk said the goalie kicked her out of their apartment, which was 'the final straw' in what she described as a violent, year-long relationship.

'He said that he can spend $2 million in a day and tells her that she's nobody, that she hasn't achieved anything in her life, that all she is is pretty much a rag,' Senova said. 'She really truly loved him and she wanted to have family with him. ... She thought maybe he would change.'

Vavrinyuk said he had hurt her before in other countries where police seemed to look the other way. But she was confident the case would prevail in the United States.

'She wants everybody to know what he really is and what he is capable of,' Senova said. 'When she hears fans shouting his name, that he's such a great guy, she wants to make sure they know his real face. She wants to make sure he's punished for this.'

Vavrinyuk, who had just started a three-month visit with Varlamov, said she is afraid to return to Russia because his fans there have threatened her and her mother.

His attorney, Jack Rotole, said that 'my client has not had his day in court, and he will receive his day in court, and we will defend the matter in court.'

Varlamov's agent, Paul Theofanous, told The Denver Post his client 'is completely innocent of these charges.'

Varlamov has no previous arrest record in the United States since joining the Washington Capitals in 2009.

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said he didn't know enough about what happened to offer much comment.

'It's a law thing and it's important for me as a coach that I keep my focus on my team and we keep our focus there,' Roy said, 'and at the same time, let the law decide what's going to be.'

Staff writers Adrian Dater and Terry Frei contributed to this report.