Five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior Championship team have been ordered to surrender to London, Ontario police on charges of sexual assault relating to a 2018 incident.
Five Players Ordered To Surrender
Breaking: Five members of the 2018 world junior hockey team have been told to surrender to London, Ont., police to face charges of sexual assault, The Globe and Mail reports, citing unnamed sources.
The Globe reports the players, who have not been charged yet, have been given a…— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) January 24, 2024
According to Rick Westhead, The five players have not been named but have been given a timeline to report to the London Police headquarters to surrender to the sexual assault charge.
The incident stems from a 2018 Hockey Canada golf and gala event where a woman only identified in court documents as E.M. was sexually assaulted by five players. E.M. pressed charges shortly following the suit, but the case was closed by the police in 2019 without any charges filed. due to ongoing pressure from the community, the case was reopened.
Katie Strang reached out to the NHL’s Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly for comment, but he said that they are unable to comment. The London Police also refused to comment, citing “We are unable to provide an update at this time. When there is further information to share regarding this investigation, we will be in contact with media outlets.”
What This Means
There are several players which include Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, and Carter Hart who have taken indefinite leaves of absence from professional clubs, and are making their way to Canada. Although it is nothing official yet. For now, it looks that three out of the involved have been notified, and are looking to surrender
This case has been an ongoing investigation for the past few years, and there has been calls for the suspected individuals to be suspended or permanently removed from the league related to the incident. for many teams in the NHL, this could mean the replacement of key roster pieces.
Most likely, the NHL contracts will be bought out or voided, with insurance paying the remainder of the deal. This was done with Corey Perry earlier in the year.
MAIN PHOTO: © Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
