(WGR 550/WBEN) - Five players that suited up for Team Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo have been charged with sexual assault in connection with an alleged assault after the tournament in London, Ontario.
Of the five players involved in the alleged incident, four of them were rostered players in the National Hockey League. This included Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, and Calgary Flames forward Dillion Dubé, who served as team captain for Canada in the tournament.
The fifth player facing a sexual assault charge stemming from the alleged assault is forward Alex Formenton, whose rights are still owned by the Ottawa Senators. He turned himself into police on Sunday to face charges.
The attorneys representing Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dubé all denied any wrongdoing to London Police on Tuesday. Each are facing one count of sexual assault, which they will all plead not guilty to.
All five players have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs, including Formenton, who was playing in Switzerland. Their agents have not spoken publicly on the matter at this time.
Spokespeople with the Flames, Devils and Flyers say the teams are aware of the reports against their players.
Calgary issued a statement on Tuesday, saying they had "no knowledge of pending charges at the time Dillon’s request for a leave of absence was granted." The team had granted Dubé's request for a leave of absence to attend to his mental health on Jan. 21.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has yet to address this situation, but is expected to speak with the media this weekend during the league's All-Star Weekend festivities.
A news conference has been scheduled by London Police for this coming Monday to further address their investigation into the matter, which was launched in 2022.
This investigation by London Police began after Hockey Canada settled a lawsuit with a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by eight members of the 2018 gold medal-winning World Juniors team following a Hockey Canada Foundation fundraising gala in June of 2018.
The woman sought $3.55 million in damages, and then dropped the lawsuit after reaching a settlement with Hockey Canada.
Hart is in the final year of his current three-year contract with the Flyers. He's in his sixth season in Philadelphia after being a second-round pick (48th overall) of the team in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Dubé's is also in the final year of his three-year deal with the Flames, where he has appeared in 325 games in Calgary after being a second-round pick (56th overall) in 2016.
McLeod was a first-round pick (12th overall) of the Devils in the 2016 NHL Draft, and still has one year remaining on his current deal in New Jersey. The 25-year-old has produced 85 points (29+56) in his six seasons.
As for Foote, the 2017 first-round pick (14th overall) of the Tampa Bay Lightning has played only four games this season with the Devils, while spending the rest of his 2023-24 campaign in the American Hockey League with their farm team in Utica.