Five players from Canada's 2018 World Junior Team have taken leave from their current clubs in recent days following reports that they were asked to surrender to police on suspicion of sexual assault.
Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, and former NHL player Alex Formenton, currently playing in Europe, are all placed on indefinite leave. His absence was announced in January 2019. For the past 4 days.
Flyers and Swiss club coach Ambri Piotta cited personal reasons for Hart and Formenton's departures. The Swiss club also announced that Formenton has been cleared to return to Canada. The Flames cited Dube's mental health as a reason, but the Devils did not give a reason when announcing the leave of absence for McLeod and Foote on Wednesday.
Messages left with representatives for all five players and multiple messages sent to Hart's attorney seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Police in London, Ont., launched an investigation in 2022 after word emerged that Hockey Canada had settled a lawsuit with a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by eight members of the team at a celebration. The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that five players from the team have been asked to turn themselves in to police on suspicion of sexual assault in the city located halfway between Toronto and Detroit.
A London police spokesperson did not confirm the report when contacted by The Associated Press. “If we have any updates to provide, we will share them with the media,” said Sgt. Sandasha Buh said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said at the beginning of his midseason organizational status press conference: is published.
“The NHL has made it very clear that teams should refer all questions related to the investigation to them. In the meantime, members of the organization, including Flyers players, will not comment further. .”
The NHL has promised to launch its own investigation and release its findings in 2022.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday that the league will issue a statement at the appropriate time, adding that he has nothing more to say at this time. During the Stanley Cup Final in June, Daly said he expected the independent investigator to complete his work and submit a report by mid-summer, after which the league would consider it.
The Daily newspaper said on June 3: “We have been in contact with London Police and we hope to continue to do so. We will ensure that we have visibility into what our processes are. I will try my best to do so.” So that's the goal. And you can't predict what will happen from there. ”
