A woman was found so intoxicated in Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin’s hotel room Saturday that a team doctor called for an ambulance to take her to a hospital, according to a Seattle Police Department report obtained Thursday by The Denver Post.
Nichushkin did not play that night in Game 3 of the Avalanche’s first-round playoff series against the Kraken — and hasn’t appeared with the team since then. When contacted by The Post late Thursday afternoon, a team spokesman declined to comment on whether or not Nichuskin’s absence is connected to the incident but did confirm he is currently not with the team.
Team employees found the woman when they went to check on Nichushkin in his room at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle where the Avs were staying, according to the incident report. The team doctor felt she was too intoxicated to safely leave the hotel in a cab, and called 911 at about 3:20 p.m. local time, the report states.
The 28-year-old woman, who The Post is not identifying, told authorities she was from Russia and was born in Ukraine, and said “she should never have come to the United States and that some guy took her passport and that he was a bad person,” according to the incident report. She was taken to a hospital after officers found she was too intoxicated to care for herself.
The incident report notes that the team doctor was not aware of any family connections between Nichushkin and the woman. All three are listed as “involved” parties, but Nichushkin is never quoted in the report.
