Reporter reveals when the 5 players charged in the Hockey Canada scandal will face trial

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Josh tupper
February 1, 2024 (10:52)

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Photo credit: Hockey Canada

It has been almost six years since the alleged Team Canada incident occurred in London, Ontario. Last week, London Police finally made a decision and requested five members of the 2018 turn themselves in and face charges. This week those five players officially turned themselves in and faced their charges.

This week Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton all released statements declaring their intent to defend themselves in court. All five players are currently away from their respective teams and are expected to be for the foreseeable future.

London Police have scheduled a press conference for February 5th where they will reveal more information. At this time they're expected to share even more information about the charges laid. At this time the NHL could move to suspend the contracts of the four players charged.

With this comes the question of how long it could potentially take for these players to see their due legal process. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that will be a speedy process. According to Rick Westhead it doesn't sound as if the players will see a trial until at least 2026.

Gary Ellis, the former head of Toronto Police Service's s** crimes unit, told TSN in an interview that the players would be photographed, fingerprinted, and directed to sign an undertaking not to have contact with the alleged victim, either the first time they report to police or at a subsequent date.

Lawyers who specialize in criminal assault cases have told me a trial in this case is unlikely before 2026.

Under the law the players are innocent until proven guilty, but at the earliest it appears that the players could miss 2.5 seasons at the very least. It's unlikely teams will invite these players back during this process or that the NHL will make them eligible to play. In many ways this could effectively end all of these player's careers before they've seen their day in court.

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POLL
1 FEVRIER \| 1103 ANSWERS Reporter reveals when the 5 players charged in the Hockey Canada scandal will face trial Should these players be able to play before their pending trial?
No, they shouldn't be	577	52.3 %
Yes, innocent until proven guilty	420	38.1 %
It should be up to the teams	106	9.6 %
LIST OF POLLS