Kings goaltending prospect Patrik Bartosak waived arraignment Tuesday in a Manchester, N.H., court on domestic violence charges, according to a report on the Union Leader newspaper’s website. Bartosak, a 22-year-old from the Czech Republic who was recently re-assigned from the Kings’ AHL team in Ontario to their ECHL club in Manchester, faces a total of 12 charges, including a felony second-degree assault charge that he attempted to strangle his girlfriend Monday afternoon at a New Hampshire residence.
Bartosak is free on a $10,000 bond.
A hearing on the felony charge was set for Dec. 16.
A trial date for assault, threatening and stalking misdemeanors was set for Jan. 28.
The Kings are aware of the situation and said in a statement, “This is a very serious matter and these allegations represent a type of behavior we do not stand for. We will continue to gather information and comment further when appropriate.”
Slava Voynov, a former Kings defenseman, served 45 days in jail after a domestic violence conviction earlier this year. Voynov returned to his native Russia rather than face a deportation hearing. The Kings were set to terminate his contract on the day Voynov announced he would self-deport to Russia.
The NHL has not lifted its indefinite suspension of Voynov.
In addition to Voynov, two other Kings players, Mike Richards and Jarret Stoll, were arrested and charged with drug possession this year. Richards’ contract was terminated during the off-season and he faces a hearing in an Emerson, Manitoba, court Dec. 8. Stoll’s felony arrest in Las Vegas was later reduced to a misdemeanor and he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent during the summer.
Bartosak is alleged to have grabbed the unnamed 20-year-old woman and pushed her against a wall, chocked her, grabbed her chest, punched her two times and slapped her in the face and legs. He also is alleged to have told her, “If you don’t have anything to say I’m going to kill you. I’m going to punch you in the face if you don’t say anything. I hope you know I’m going to knock you out and put you to sleep before I leave.”
Later, he allegedly sent text messages to the woman, saying he was coming to her place of employment at the Mall of New Hampshire. He is alleged to have been waiting for her in the parking lot when she left work.