This article mentions sexual assault. Please read with caution.
The world of NHL hockey was turned upside down in 2024 when five players announced a “leave of absence” from their teams. As was widely reported, the move likely stemmed from a lawsuit relating to an alleged sexual assault at the 2018 World Junior Championship.
Four players who announced their leaves of absence were Michael McLeod and Cal Foote from the New Jersey Devils, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames. Alex Formenton, meanwhile — formerly of the NHL — was playing in Europe when he returned to Canada. Each of the men competed for Canada at the World Junior Championship in London, Ontario, where the alleged sexual assault took place, AP News reported.
Early on, no one specifically mentioned the 2022 lawsuit as a reason for the departure. On whether Hart’s sudden announcement he’d press pause on his play stemmed from the case, Flyers GM Daniel Briere said at a press conference, “We are aware of this morning’s press reports on a very serious matter. We will respond appropriately when the outcomes of the investigations are made public.”
A total of eight men were named in the litigation. The names of the remaining three were not reported.
What happened at the 2018 World Junior Championship?
According to a 2022 TSN.ca report, the woman who filed the lawsuit against the eight players alleged she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by eight men in a hotel room while she was intoxicated, “including but not limited to members of the Canada U20 Men’s Junior Hockey Team,” court records state. The woman, only known as E.M., asked for $3.55 million in damages, and Hockey Canada settled out of court. No players were named at the time.
That year, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league would also investigate and that he expected the players named in the suit would cooperate. Bettman said:
“We’re working with the Players’ Association to make sure that there’s full cooperation and that the Players’ Association is comfortable with how we’re dealing with the players. Our goal is to get to the bottom of this and get a full understanding of what actually happened by whom,” Bettman said.
via AP News
More information was expected on Feb. 5
Following the announcement that four NHL players and one former player would take leaves of absence from their teams, believed to be connected to the 2018 alleged sexual assault lawsuit, London police said more details would be forthcoming in a Feb. 5 news conference.
Once settled, the initial case was reopened in 2022 when the Canadian government investigated whether Hockey Canada, the national governing body of the sport, used public funds to settle the litigation, leading to an overhaul of the organization.
Also that year, London police said they had “reasonable grounds to believe five members of the 2018 team had sexually assaulted a woman.” There is no statute of limitations on sexual assault in Canada, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.