Hockey Canada to extend suspensions of four 2018 world junior players, lifts one

A panel of former judges has found that five members of the 2018 World Junior hockey team violated Hockey Canada’s code of conduct and has recommended extending suspensions for four of them, while immediately reinstating one player.

The violations are in connection with an alleged 2018 sexual assault. The players – Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote – were found not guilty by a judge in London, Ont. last year after being charged criminally in relation to the incident.

Hockey Canada said in a statement Wednesday that an independent appeal board examining the matter for the organization found that the conduct of the players, while not deemed criminal by the courts, breached its code of conduct. Hockey Canada said it has accepted the review panel’s recommendations.

The players were under indefinite suspension from Hockey Canada pending the results of the review. The panel recommended that Mr. Formenton be reinstated immediately, the organization said, while other suspensions vary.

The panel recommended that Mr. Foote be suspended until Nov. 10, 2026, Mr. Hart until Nov. 10, 2027, Mr. Dubé until Nov. 10, 2028, and Mr. McLeod until Nov. 10, 2030.

The suspensions bar the four players from a wide range of activities that are overseen by the sport’s national governing body, including coaching, volunteering and representing the country at international tournaments, such as the world championships, Olympics and the Spengler Cup, were they to be considered for those rosters.

Hockey Canada gave no reasons in its press release for the varying lengths of the bans or Mr. Formenton’s reinstatement. Spokesman Jeremy Knight said the organization is not releasing the panel’s report. The terms originally set out for the code of conduct investigation in 2018 were for it to remain confidential.

Hockey Canada’s investigation produced some evidence that wasn’t allowed at the trial, including statements from three accused players that were collected by law firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP on behalf of the organization. At a pretrial hearing, a judge ruled that because the players were threatened with bans from playing or having their names publicized if they didn’t co-operate, the process could violate their right to a fair trial.

The suspensions were originally put in place on Nov. 10, 2023, when they were appealed by the players and their lawyers. The suspensions amount to a three-year Hockey Canada ban for Mr. Foote, four years for Mr. Hart, five years for Mr. Dubé and seven years for Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Formenton’s lawyer, Daniel Brown, said he couldn’t comment on the differences in the suspensions.

“Alex has spent much of his adult life living under the shadow of these false sexual-assault accusations, and the consequences for his hockey career, his reputation, and his family have been profound. Those lost years cannot be returned to him,” Mr. Brown said in an e-mail.

“Now that these proceedings have concluded, Alex looks forward to rebuilding his life and putting this ordeal behind him as best he can.”

Lawyers for the other players did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The independent appeal board consisted of three former judges: Hon. John Laskin, Hon. Katherine Swinton and Hon. Thomas McEwen.

Hockey Canada does not have say over any National Hockey League activities. Some of the players are now resuming NHL careers. Mr. Hart signed a two-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights last fall and was the team’s starting goaltender in June when Vegas lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the Stanley Cup final. Mr. Dubé has signed a contract with the St. Louis Blues.

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Mr. McLeod played for Omsk Avangard of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League last season, while Mr. Formenton played for Swiss club Ambri-Piotta.

After playing for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League last season, Mr. Foote signed a one-year contract with Sweden’s Farjestad BK in late July. However, the club issued a statement a few days later, saying it had decided not to proceed after the team heard concerns from supporters, partners and employees about the signing.

The Hockey Canada announcement brings to an end a lengthy legal saga that began more than eight years ago. Hockey Canada, the NHL and the courts each conducted separate examinations of the allegations, and the organization’s review was the only matter left to be decided.

The sexual-assault allegations were made in June, 2018, while the players were in London for a Hockey Canada golf tournament and fundraising gala.

The matter didn’t become public until 2022, when Hockey Canada settled a lawsuit from the complainant – a woman referred to in court documents as E.M. The suit was resolved for an undisclosed sum, without the knowledge of the players, who denied the allegations of sexual assault.

An initial police investigation was closed without charges in 2019, but London police reopened it in 2022.

Concerns among members of Parliament over how the allegations were handled, including a lack of transparency, led to parliamentary hearings in Ottawa and the eventual resignation of Hockey Canada’s board of directors.

During an eight-week trial last summer, Justice Maria Carroccia said she didn’t find the evidence of the complainant to be credible or reliable, resulting in the acquittal of the five players.

When London police laid sexual-assault charges in early 2024, Mr. McLeod and Mr. Foote were members of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, Mr. Hart played for the Philadelphia Flyers, and Mr. Dubé for the Calgary Flames. Mr. Formenton had joined a club in Switzerland. Each player took a leave of absence from their team as the court process played out.

The case was a black eye for the game and prompted others to come forward with allegations of sexual assaults associated with hockey, leading to discussions across the country about whether players, parents, organizers and the governing body needed to address cultural problems within the sport.

The Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial is over, but conversations about the sport’s culture continue

E.M. testified that she met Mr. McLeod at a London bar and later went to his hotel room, where they had consensual sex. She told the court that other players were invited to the room without her knowing. Mr. McLeod was also acquitted on a second charge of being a party to sexual assault.

E.M. told the court she was hit, spat on, laughed at, and made to lie on the floor during the alleged incident. Justice Carroccia said she did not believe E.M.’s version of events, including that she was extremely intoxicated at the time of the alleged assaults and that she was too afraid to leave the room.

In dismissing the allegations, Justice Carroccia avoided commenting on the players’ overall behaviour.

“It is not the function of this court to make determinations about the morality or propriety of the conduct of any of the persons involved in these events. The sole function of this court is to determine whether the Crown has proven each of the charges against each of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt,” Justice Carroccia said last summer.

Hockey Canada’s determination that the players violated its code of conduct echoes a statement from the National Hockey League after the trial.

“The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behaviour at issue was unacceptable,” the NHL said in a statement in July, 2025.