Trial Date Set For Ex-Team Canada Hockey Players Charged With Sexual Assault

We now know when the trial of five former Team Canada hockey players charged with sexual assault stemming from an alleged 2018 incident will take place.

According to Sportsnet, a judge ruled Tuesday that the trial of former Team Canada players Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Michael McLeod will begin on April 22, 2025.

Judge Bruce Thomas — who has presided over many of the pre-trial hearings that happened leading up to this decision — rejected an alternative date that would have seen the trial begin next September.

The five players were all members of Team Canada's 2018 World Junior Championship-winning team. The incident that led to these charges is alleged to have occurred in June 2018 at a hotel in London, Ontario following an event honoring the team's World Junior Championship victory.

Hart, Dube, Foote, and Formenton are all facing one count of sexual assault each, while McLeod is facing one charge of sexual assault as well as an additional count that has to do with aiding another person in an offense.

The trial of five former Team Canada players charged with sexual assault will begin this spring. (Photo by Andy Devlin/ Getty Images)

None of the players are signed by NHL teams and were released following news that they had been charged. Hart was formerly a goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers, Dube was a member of the Calgary Flames, while Foote and McLeod were both under contract with the New Jersey Devils when charges were announced.

Dube and McLeod both signed with teams in the KHL. However, it has been reported that McLeod is no longer under contract.

Formenton was playing in Switzerland when he was charged, and during pre-trial hearings, it was revealed that he had decided to end his hockey career and had started working full-time in construction.

Even with the trial date set for next spring, another round of pre-trial motions is set for Nov. 25.