Team Canada World Juniors player retires from hockey and takes up a shocking new career

Five former NHLers, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote, were given permission to absent themselves from upcoming pretrial hearings due to "compelling economic reasons." The players are among a group facing a case that originated during their time with Canada's world junior hockey team.

In a ruling from August, made public Thursday as the case began with pre-trial motions, Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas excused Alex Formenton from attending court for 29 scheduled sitting days. Those days will include arguments on the admissibility of evidence before the case actually goes to a jury.

The players' charges arise out of an incident that allegedly occurred in the early morning of June 19, 2018, in a hotel room after an event put on by the Hockey Canada Foundation. A publication ban has been placed to protect the identity of both the woman involved and two other witnesses.

Through his counsel, Alex Formenton has indicated he will plead not guilty and has invoked his constitutional right to a jury trial, scheduled to begin in September 2025.

All five players have faced significant professional repercussions since the laying of charges in 2022, court filings indicate. Alex Formenton, for instance, is no longer a professional hockey player and is working full-time in the construction industry out of Barrie, Ontario, which came as a shock to many.

The Crown has not objected to Alex Formenton's absence from pretrial hearing proceedings, acknowledging this to be a "significant accommodation." Formenton has waived his right to a preliminary hearing as a way of moving the process forward faster. His attorney has already represented him throughout earlier appearances before the court, and Alex Formenton has agreed to appear for the trial itself, once that begins next September. In no way will his absence at pretrial delay the case, though the court may require his presence at a later time if that should prove to be necessary.

Source: House of Hockey
Charged Team Canada WJC scandal player Alex Formenton officially retires from hockey at 24