Rookie-Initiation Dinners Become Issue

Rookie-initiation dinners in today’s NHL, similar to the one where King prospect Joe Corvo was arrested early Wednesday morning in Boston, usually are not the ribald affairs that once were commonplace.

No longer are first-year players shaved from head to toe by their teammates, nor are they taped naked to chairs in hotel elevators.

Typically, rookies are simply stuck paying the tab for dinner and drinks at an expensive team meal at an upscale restaurant, as Michael Cammalleri, Andreas Lilja, Jaroslav Bednar and Alexander Frolov were last Sunday for the Kings’ rookie-initiation dinner in Toronto, to the tune of about $10,000.

“You’ve got to be smart about it,” captain Mattias Norstrom said.

Corvo, 25, allegedly punched, kicked and sexually assaulted a 34-year-old woman Wednesday in Boston, where the Manchester [N.H.] Monarchs, the Kings’ American Hockey League team, were celebrating rookie-initiation night. The team reportedly had been bar hopping before the alleged altercation at 1:30 a.m.

Corvo pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment.

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Adam Deadmarsh, who suffered a concussion Tuesday night on a third-period hit by Aki Berg of the Toronto Maple Leafs, sat out Saturday night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, his second consecutive game out of the lineup.

Two seasons ago, when he was playing for the Colorado Avalanche, Deadmarsh was sidelined for 14 games because of a concussion.

“I don’t think it’s all that serious of an injury,” he said. “I just want to make sure I’m ready to go and not putting myself in bad situations on the ice where I’m going to get hurt worse. As soon as I’m clear in the head, I’ll be back out there.”

He said he could play as soon as Tuesday.

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-- Jerry Crowe