Hockey players' lawyers back in London court as case moves forward
Five members of Canada's 2018 world junior team accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London hotel room are speeding toward a trial.
The defence lawyers for Michael Mcleod, 26, Alex Formenton, 24, Cal Foote, 25, Dillon Dube, 25, and Carter Hart, 25, appeared briefly in London's Superior Court of Justice monthly scheduling court on Tuesday to begin the process of selecting a trial date.
Unlike the usual slow pace that is routine in the criminal justice system, the defence announced last month it had waived a preliminary hearing and asked the case be sent from the Ontario Court of Justice to the Superior Court of Justice to be tried by a judge and jury.
On Tuesday, defence lawyers for four of the five men appeared by teleconference before Justice Alissa Mitchell for the first Superior Court appearance to schedule a judicial pretrial — a closed-door meeting with the defence, Crown and judge to discuss trial issues — on April 3.
Missing was Hart's defence team, Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani. Lindsay Board, part of Formenton's defence team with Daniel Brown, stepped in as an agent for Hart's lawyer to complete the matter.
All of the lawyers but Hart's team have filed designations of counsel with the court that allows them to appear on behalf of their clients, without the players having to be in attendance. As a formality, Mitchell issued a “bench warrant with discretion” for Hart.
The next court appearance slated for trial scheduling will be at next month's scheduling court on April 9.
The five players, four of whom played this season in the National Hockey League, were charged in January, six years after allegations a woman was sexually assaulted at a London hotel in June 2018 when Canada's 2018 world junior team reunited here for a fundraising event months after winning gold. All five of the accused players have taken leave from their professional teams:
ALEX FORMENTON: A former star with the London Knights, he was playing in Switzerland before taking a leave to face the charges. A 24-year-old Barrie native, he scored 18 goals in 2021-22 for the Ottawa Senators but did not sign a new contract and left the NHL.
MICHAEL MCLEOD: He was in the fifth season of a career with the NHL'S New Jersey Devils when he took a leave ahead of the charges. The Mississauga native, 26, has played 287 NHL games.
CAL FOOTE: The son of a hockey hall of famer, the 25-year-old has spent the bulk of this season in the minors before taking a leave. He's played 145 NHL games and is on a one-year contract. DILLON DUBE: The Calgary Flames said they had no knowledge charges were looming when they granted a leave in January to the 25-year-old native of Golden, B.C. He was on pace to score six goals this year while playing out the final season of a three-year contract.
CARTER HART: The Sherwood Park, Alta., native was the star goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers before taking a leave. He's in the final season of a three-year contract.
The case was first investigated by the London police in 2018 but no charges were filed. It became public in spring 2022, when Hockey Canada settled a $3.5-million lawsuit filed by a woman, identified as E.M.