Players from the 2018 edition of Team Canada Junior can no longer represent their country

DAY

Players who made up the 2018 edition of Junior Team Canada (JCT) will no longer be able to represent Canada on the international stage until the gang rape investigation is completed. 

So Hockey Canada said in a statement delivered Monday to TSN reporter Rick Westhead.

“Earlier this year, Hockey Canada made the decision that until the results of this survey regarding the 2018 lightweight events are made public, no member of the 2018 edition of ECJ will be considered to represent Team Canada,” said the federation in its statement. letter.

“This has been communicated to the leadership group of the Canadian team in preparation for the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship.”

Organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the competition is will be held from May 12 to 28 in Finland and Latvia.

Among the best-known players at ECJ 2018 are Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, former Montreal Canadiens Victor Mete and Quebecer Maxime Comtois.

In recent months, the law firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille has been mandated to investigate the allegations of a young woman. The latter claims to have been the victim of a gang rape perpetrated by eight players of ECJ 2018. The alleged crime took place in the summer of 2018, after a golf tournament organized by Hockey Canada in London, Ontario.

Hockey Canada found itself in the hot seat in this case, as it paid out money in an out-of-court settlement, all following a $3.5 million lawsuit $ brought by the alleged victim in April 2022. Subsequently, the federation faced many pitfalls, including the desertion of major sponsors and the wholesale resignation of the board of directors (replaced in December), not to mention the demands repeated calls from the federal government who demanded more explanation about its handling of the 2018 case and others who were the subject of financial compensation.