3 former NHLers attend pretrial hearings in London, Ont., ahead of world juniors sexual assault trial

Warning: This article references allegations of sexual assault.

Three of the five former NHL players accused of sexual assault stemming back to when they were members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team were in a London, Ont., courtroom on Monday for the start of pretrial hearings.

Dillon Dubé, Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton arrived ahead of the proceedings, which are set to last three weeks and will allow lawyers and the judge to decide which evidence will be presented to a jury. On Monday, it was decided that Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will preside over the trial. 

The three players, alongside Carter Hart and Cal Foote, face one count each of sexual assault involving a woman who says she was violated in a hotel room in London following the gala celebrating Canada's world junior hockey win.

McLeod faces an additional charge of being party to the offence. All five players are expected to plead not guilty when the trial gets underway in April. Shortly after charges were laid, the players opted for a jury trial.

A publication ban preventing the release of information is in place for the pretrail hearings; there's also a publication ban on identifying the alleged victim and two witnesses. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The accused played professional hockey following the alleged assault. McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dubé was with the Calgary Flames and Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers. Their NHL contracts expired in July. Formenton had been signed with the Ottawa Senators, but was playing in Switzerland at the time the charges were announced.

In August, two of the five players signed contracts to play in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). 

Astana Barys, a team based in Kazakhstan, signed McLeod to a deal that expires at the end of May. The Belarus-based KHL team Dinamo Minsk also has listed Dubé on its roster.

The police investigation into the players was initially closed without charges in 2019 but reopened in 2022. London's current police chief apologized to the complainant earlier this year for the delay in laying charges.

The accusations were made public in 2022 and sent shockwaves through Canada's hockey culture and its governing body, Hockey Canada. That reckoning resulted in the resignation of Hockey Canada's entire board of directors and chief executive officer.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, support is available through crisis lines and local support services via this government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.