The professional hockey landscape continues to navigate the complex, highly scrutinized aftermath of one of the most prominent legal and disciplinary sagas in Canadian sports history. With the recent signing of forward Alex Formenton by the Edmonton Oilers, public attention has once again focused on the five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who were acquitted of sexual assault charges in July 2025.
The five players—Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, and Michael McLeod—were cleared of all criminal charges stemming from an encounter at a 2018 Hockey Canada gala in London, Ontario. The trial’s conclusion marked the end of a lengthy legal battle, but it marked the beginning of a complex, dual-track process of professional reinstatement and institutional discipline.
While the National Hockey League (NHL) chose to reinstate all five players, allowing them to sign contracts and play in the league starting December 1, 2025, Hockey Canada took a different approach. The national governing body’s independent appeal board subsequently ruled that all five players had breached its code of conduct. As a result, Hockey Canada extended its ban from national programs for three of the five players, while establishing varying timelines for the others. This has created a fractured landscape where some players have successfully returned to North American ice, others have found opportunities overseas, and all continue to face varying degrees of institutional restrictions and public reaction.
Below is an in-depth look at where each of the five players has landed in the professional ranks since the conclusion of their trial.
Alex Formenton
Alex Formenton’s return to the NHL became official on September