LONDON, Ontario (AP) — Lawyers for four NHL players and a former NHL player charged with sexual assault during their time on Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team appeared before a Canadian court on Monday in the latest step in the case that has rocked the sport.
Attorneys representing Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames and former NHL player Alex Formenton took part in a video hearing. No players were present at the court proceeding in London, a city about halfway between Toronto and Detroit.
The next hearing was scheduled for April 30. London Police were holding a news conference later in the day to provide an update on the investigation.
Court documents show the five players were charged late last month with sexual assault, with McLeod facing an extra charge for “being a party to the offense.”
During the brief hearing, prosecutors sought and obtained an order protecting the identity of the complainant, which is standard in sexual assault cases, as well as that of two witnesses. Prosecutor Heather Donkers also said the players’ lawyers would receive “substantial disclosure” in the next few days. Disclosure is the evidence collected by the prosecution.
Lawyers for all five players have said their clients are not guilty and would defend themselves against the allegations. The players surrendered to London police over the past week.
The case has shadowed Canadian hockey for years.
A woman sued Hockey Canada in 2022, alleging she was sexually assaulted in a hotel room by eight members of Canada’s world junior team after a fundraising gala in London in June 2018. Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit, and then an investigation revealed the organization had two secret slush funds to pay out settlements on claims of sexual assault and abuse.
London police dropped their investigation in 2019 but began another internal investigation in July 2022. Around the same time, the NHL launched its own investigation, though the results of that likely will not be released until the legal case is resolved.
“At this stage, the most responsible and prudent thing for us to do is await the conclusion of the judicial proceedings, at which point we will respond as appropriate at the time,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday at All-Star Weekend in Toronto.
The players are all on indefinite leave from their teams. Bettman said the league does not consider it necessary to suspend the players without pay for the rest of the season.
Bettman said the league found out about the allegations on May 26, 2022. He said the NHL interviewed every player from that team, adding the woman involved declined to take part in the investigation.
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The Canadian Press contributed.
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