The Kings on Monday recalled defensemen Jeff Schultz and Nick Ebert from their American Hockey League team in Ontario. Schultz, 26, had three assists and a plus-7 defensive rating in 20 games for the Reign. Ebert, 21, had four assists and a plus-7 defensive rating in 16 games in Ontario. The Kings faced the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
The Kings on Wednesday said they “suspended the contract of goaltender Patrik Bartosak” after he was arrested and charged with an alleged assault on his girlfriend in Manchester, N.H., on Monday. Bartosak faces one felony assault charge and several other misdemeanor charges, including assault, threatening and stalking. The Kings said in a statement:
“This morning our club suspended Patrik Bartosak for his actions resulting in his arrest in Manchester, N.H., on (Monday). We take this matter very seriously. Our response in this matter reflects our extreme disappointment, particularly given the programs we have instituted internally and the commitment our organization has made to educating our players on the prevention of domestic violence. This in the first step in an ongoing process as we continue to gather information related to this incident and monitoring the legal proceedings.”
The statement referred to a number of counseling efforts the Kings made during training camp in September, some of which are ongoing, after the arrest of three players during a nine-month span last season. Among those arrested was defenseman Slava Voynov, who served a 45-day jail sentence on a domestic violence charge last summer. Voynov severed ties with the Kings and the NHL and returned to his native Russia rather than face a deportation hearing.
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.
The American Hockey League made his California debut Saturday.
The Ducks’ new team, the Gulls, played to a sellout crowd in San Diego. Here’s a link to the story in the San Diego Union-Tribune: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/oct/10/in-opener-gulls-roar/
The Kings’ new team, the Reign, traveled from its home base in Ontario to play in Bakersfield. Here’s a link to the story from the Riverside Press-Enterprise via their stringer in Bakersfield: http://www.pe.com/articles/reign-783120-nhl-season.htmlhttp://
The Kings on Tuesday traded forward Brian O’Neill to the New Jersey Devils for a seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft. They also lost goaltending prospect J.F. Berube to the New York Islanders, who claimed him off waivers. Forward Dwight King was played on injured reserve because of an upper-body injury.
In addition, the Kings reached the NHL’s 23-player roster limit by assigning defensemen Vincent LoVerde and Jamie McBain to their new AHL team in Ontario. LoVerde and McBain also were placed on waivers Monday, but they cleared Tuesday at 9 a.m., and will join the Reign.
Kings goaltending prospect Patrik Bartosak has a thumb injury that will require surgery, assistant general manager Rob Blake said Monday. Bartosak has been troubled by the injury on his catching hand in the past and aggravated it during training camp with the Reign of the AHL. Blake said the 22-year-old Bartosak could be sidelined for about a month to start the season. He was the Kings’ fifth-round draft pick (146th overall) in 2013 out of the Czech Republic.
The Kings on Monday assigned left wing Michael Mersch to their new AHL team in Ontario. NHL teams must trim their rosters to the 23-player limit by Tuesday.
The Kings on Friday assigned goaltender Peter Budaj to the Reign of the AHL and returned defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov to Owen Sound of the junior-level OHL. The Kings have 30 players on their roster.
The Kings on Sunday sent center Andrew Crescenzi to the Reign of the AHL and returned defenseman Erik Cernak to his junior-level team, Erie (Pa). of the OHL. The Kings have 32 players on their roster. Cernak was the Kings’ second-round draft pick (43rd overall) in the 2015 draft.
The Kings made their first significant cuts Saturday, reducing their roster to 34 players the day before playing the Colorado Avalanche in an exhibition game Sunday in Denver. They assigned 14 players to the Reign of the AHL and released four from their pro tryouts. Here’s the list of players sent to the minors:
Forwards Justin Auger, Jonny Brodzinski, Nic Dowd, Adrian Kempe, Maxim Kitsyn, Scott Sabourin and Valentin Zykov, defensemen Nick Ebert, Kevin Gravel, Zachary Leslie, Alex Lintuniemi, Kurtis MacDermid and Alex Roach and goalie Patrik Bartosak were assigned to the Reign.
Forwards Sean Backman, Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Horvat and defenseman Kevin Raine were released from their pro tryouts.