“We can now confirm that more than five and a half years after EM’s initial complaint to police, the London Police Service has charged Mike McLeod with sexual assault,” the e-mailed statement from David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein read.
The statement indicated that McLeod denies any criminal wrongdoing and “will be pleading not guilty and will vigorously defend the case.”
The statement added, “None of the evidence has been presented, let alone tested in court. We ask that the public respect Mr. McLeod’s privacy, and his family’s privacy. Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time.”
Later on Tuesday, a lawyer representing Dube released a similar statement.
“The London Police Service have charged Mr. Dube with sexual assault. He will plead not guilty and maintains his innocence,” the statement from Louis Stress read. “He will defend the allegations in court. We ask that you respect the privacy of Mr. Dube and that of his family.”
A statement on behalf of Hart — attributed to his lawyers Megan Savard and Riaz Salani — read, “We act for Carter Hart and confirm he has been charged with one count of sexual assault. He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false allegation in the proper forum, a court of law. Until then, we have no comment.”
Julianna Greenspan, representing Foote, said Tuesday night in a statement: “Cal is innocent of the charge and will defend himself against this allegation to clear his name. What is most critical at this time is the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial that everyone in Canada is entitled to. As the matter is before the court, I ask that Cal’s and his family’s privacy be respected. There will be no further comment at this time.”
McLeod, Dube, Hart and Foote are the second, third, fourth and fifth players to be publicly identified in the case after Alex Formenton’s lawyer confirmed the former Ottawa Senators player was charged by London Police on Sunday. The Globe and Mail reported that five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team were told to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges last week.
On Sunday, London police told The Athletic that they will “provide all updates” related to the case at a news conference scheduled for Feb. 5.
The Globe and Mail reported the pending charges are related to an alleged sexual assault of a woman by several players in a London hotel room on June 19, 2018, following a Hockey Canada Foundation event.
The allegations were made public in a lawsuit filed by the woman against Hockey Canada in April 2022. In the complaint, filed in Ontario Superior Court, the woman alleged she was assaulted by eight players in a hotel room after the foundation event. Members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team were among those accused of assault in the lawsuit.
Hockey Canada and the woman settled the lawsuit in May 2022.
After the lawsuit was made public, London police and Hockey Canada reopened their investigations into the incident, and the NHL launched an investigation as well. The initial investigation by London police was closed in February 2019, without charges being filed.
When reached for comment, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league won’t be making a statement “at this time.” The NHLPA also declined to comment.
The 25-year-old Hart appeared in 26 games for the Flyers this season. On Jan. 24, Hart requested and was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the Flyers for personal reasons.
Dube, 25, had appeared in 43 games with the Flames this season. On Jan. 21, the Flames issued a statement that read, “Dillon Dube has been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team while he attends to his mental health. Dillon is under the care of health professionals, and we request that Dillon’s privacy is respected during this period.”
On Tuesday, the Flames released another statement saying they “have now become aware” of the allegations against Dube and the organization “had no knowledge of pending charges at the time Dillon’s request for a leave of absence was granted.”
McLeod, 25, has appeared in 45 games for the Devils this season. Foote, also 25, split his time between the New Jersey Devils and their AHL farm team in Utica this season. He played 24 games with Utica and four with New Jersey. Last week, the Devils issued a statement in which both McLeod and Foote had requested and been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team. The Devils declined to comment any further to The Athletic on Tuesday night.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
