A former NHL draft pick has reportedly retired from hockey to pursue a career in construction, but he and four of his Canadian world junior teammates are facing sexual assault allegations.
Alex Formenton, 24, is “finishing his hockey career” and lives in Barrie, Ontario, where he is training to operate and maintain heavy machinery after playing professional hockey in Switzerland for the past two years. CBC reported, citing court records..
In February, Formenton, a second-round draft pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2017, was one of five Canadian junior players charged with sexual assault.
Ontario Provincial Police also charged the Devils' Michael McLeod and Cal Foote, the Flyers' Carter Hart and the Flames' Dillon Dube.
The five players are accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room at a fundraising party in London in June 2018.
The woman sued Hockey Canada in 2022, alleging she was assaulted by eight members of the team.
Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit, but a subsequent investigation revealed the association had two secret funds set aside to pay settlements for sexual assault and abuse claims.
Police dropped the case in 2019 but reopened it in 2022, revealing they found reasonable and probable cause to prosecute. If convicted, he could face prison time.
Formenton's new hiring was listed in court records made public Thursday from an August trial in which Acting District Judge Bruce Thomas ruled to exempt five players from attending pretrial hearings in the Superior Court case.
During the 29 court hearings that the players are allowed to sit out, lawyers will discuss what evidence will and will not be presented during the trial. According to CBC.
“Each applicant has filed an affidavit in which they acknowledge the importance of the proceedings and state that they see no need to attend the hearing,” Thomas wrote. “It is clear that all of the applicants need to work or find employment not only to make ends meet but also to pay their expenses, which at this time include legal fees.”
Lawyers for the five players said they would plead not guilty to the charges.
The defendants have opted for a jury trial scheduled for September 8, 2025, but could begin as early as April 2025 if all pretrial requirements are satisfied.
Thomas defended his decision to grant exemptions from pretrial hearings to “talented junior hockey players” who stopped playing after being indicted on sexual assault charges earlier this year.
“At this time they cannot play in the National Hockey League,” the judge added.
Both McLeod and Dube are under contract with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Kazakhstan and Belarus, and Thomas noted that the travel required by the league and the time difference would make it difficult for them to participate in a “preliminary hearing application.”
Both Foote, who now lives in Denver, and Hart, who lives in Alberta, are not currently playing but indicated they need to continue training at a high level if they want to have any hope of continuing as professional hockey players.
The five players were suspended indefinitely by their professional teams after being indicted.
Each of the five men was charged with sexual assault.
McLeod faces a second charge of being an accessory to a crime.
Formenton appeared in 109 games with the Senators from 2017-2022, scoring 23 goals and recording 16 assists.
Formenton, a restricted free agent in 2022, left the NHL to sign with Swiss National League head coach Ambri Piotta.
He made 46 appearances and scored 20 goals over two seasons, but the team gave him time off to report to London police.
