Panarin's former teammates make important statements about crazy accusations

They're coming out with significant statements.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Panarin's former teammates make important statements about crazy accusations
Zuma Press

New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin stunned everyone leave of absence from the team on Monday for personal reasons. We know now that’s because he needs to step away for an unspecified amount of time amid allegations in Russia of an assault in 2011 that the player vehemently denies.

A Russian news article on Monday quoted Andrei Nazarov, Panarin’s former KHL coach and a former NHL enforcer, who claimed Panarin struck an 18-year-old girl in Latvia in 2011. He claimed Panarin knocked an 18-year-old Latvian girl to the floor in 2011 with “several powerful blows,” according to a translation of the Russian newspaper story. He then alleged Panarin paid $40,000 (EUR) in cash for the police to “put the brakes on the case.”

However the New York Post reached out to former teammates of Panarin, who all played under Nazarov and no one can imagine Panarin guilty of these accusations. Amongst them is Jon Mirasty, who told the Post his former coach’s accusations seem  “really fishy” and that he had never heard any rumblings of such an incident occurring.

“[Panarin] was a great kid, I have nothing but nice things to say about him, so when I heard that, I was like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t sound like him,’ ” Mirasty, a Canadian winger, told The Post. “And I’m pretty sure I would have heard something like that, you know, being one of the older veteran players there.

“I never heard anything like that, so I was kind of blown away. I’m obviously not saying it didn’t happen, but if I were to guess, [it didn’t happen]. And why is it coming out 10 years later?”

Panarin has been an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Last month, Panarin posted a photo on his Instagram account supporting Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with the caption: “Freedom for Navalny.” Navalny has been jailed in Moscow since mid-January despite demands for his release from the European Court of Human Rights. Nazarov, a known supporter of Putin, has repeatedly criticized Panarin for his outspoken beliefs regarding the Putin’s regime.

That’s why Mirasty questions the timeline of the accusations, as he has seen Panarin publicly speak out against the Putin regime. He simply cannot imagine his former teammate acting this way. 

“I don’t even think Panarin could even beat up a girl,” Mirasty said. “He was a little, skinny kid and he was always just smiling, making people laugh, and he was a hell of a hockey player. It just don’t add up to me.”

Kip Brennan, a Canadian who briefly played for the Islanders, also said he didn’t know anything about Panarin’s involvement in a physical altercation with a woman during the season they played together. 

“I didn’t know or hear that something like that ever happened,” Brennan told The Post.
“He was a great guy, he was hilarious in the locker room. He always worked on his English with the North American guys and was a very talented young player.”

In total, four former teammates made testimonies to support Panarin and deny the allegations. Two of them requested to remain anonymous, but agreed with Mirasty’s and Brennan’s stances on the situation.

“I just know Artemi as a very happy, funny guy,” one said. “Always had a smile on his face at the rink and was a good teammate.”

This could help the Rangers’ star player moving forward and maybe put this behind him. Panarin was forced to head back home because he feared for his family’s safety in Russia once these allegations were made public. 

Let’s see if his former teammates’ statement will help.