Hockey Canada upheld suspensions for four players despite acquittals
Hockey Canada has concluded a multi-year disciplinary and appeals process connected with events from 2018 and confirmed that four former members of Canada's junior national team remain suspended from programs under its jurisdiction. According to the federation's official announcement of August 12, 2026, an independent appeal board confirmed that Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod violated Hockey Canada's code of conduct. At the same time, the board recommended different suspension periods, and the national federation accepted those recommendations. Formenton was reinstated into the system immediately, while the bans for the other four extend from November 2026 to November 2030. The decision was made more than a year after all five were acquitted in an Ontario criminal court of charges related to sexual assault, once again underscoring the difference between criminal proceedings and the internal disciplinary process of a sports governing body.
According to Hockey Canada, Cal Foote remains suspended until November 10, 2026, Carter Hart until November 10, 2027, Dillon Dubé until November 10, 2028, and Michael McLeod until November 10, 2030. Alex Formenton became eligible for immediate reinstatement into federation programs. Hockey Canada did not publicly explain why the suspension periods differ, nor did it disclose the individual findings on the basis of which the appeal board recommended those specific terms. The federation cited the confidentiality of the proceedings, which began under earlier investigation and adjudication rules. As a result, it is not possible from the publicly available decision to reliably determine whether the differences in the length of the sanctions are connected with different factual findings, the roles of individual players, or other aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Appeal board confirmed violation of the code of conduct
Hockey Canada's official announcement states that the independent appeal board upheld the conclusion that all five players violated the federation's code of conduct. The board consisted of John I. Laskin, Katherine E. Swinton and Thomas J. McEwen, and the proceedings represented the final stage of a process that stretched over several years and ran in parallel with the police investigation, criminal proceedings and a separate NHL investigation. Hockey Canada emphasized that the players had formally been suspended from programs under its jurisdiction until the appeal was completed. Following the August 2026 decision, that temporary status was replaced by individually determined reinstatement dates for four players, while Formenton was reinstated immediately. The federation also announced that the independent investigation did not establish a code violation by other members of the 2018 junior national team, meaning that as of August 12, 2026, they are once again eligible to be considered for participation in Hockey Canada programs.
That, however, does not automatically mean a place on Canada's national team. Hockey Canada states that every player being considered for a national team will undergo an enhanced screening process, including an independent review of findings connected with the 2018 junior national team, before becoming eligible to represent Canada in international competitions. Such wording is particularly important in Formenton's case, as his suspension was lifted immediately, but any potential return to the national team still depends on a separate assessment process. The same applies to Foote, Hart, Dubé and McLeod after their individual suspensions expire. In other words, the end date of a disciplinary measure opens the possibility of being considered, but does not guarantee selection for the national team.
The 2018 case and the criminal proceedings in Ontario
The matter concerns events in London, in the Canadian province of Ontario, following a Hockey Canada Foundation gala held in June 2018 to celebrate the success of the junior national team, which had won world championship gold earlier that year. In the court case R. v. McLeod et al., the charges concerned events in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018. A woman whose identity was protected in court reports by the initials E.M. alleged that she had not consented to the sexual activity that followed, while the defendants' lawyers argued that her participation had been voluntary. Criminal proceedings were initiated years after the original investigations, with the trial beginning in April 2025 and ending in June of the same year. Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia acquitted all five players of all charges before the court on July 24, 2025.
In the criminal proceedings, the question was whether the prosecution had proven the elements of the criminal offences beyond a reasonable doubt. The summary of the judgment and CanLII materials show that the court expressly distinguished the task of criminal law from an assessment of the morality of the conduct and reiterated that the burden of proof remained on the prosecution. That distinction is essential to understanding why the acquittal did not automatically end Hockey Canada's proceedings. The sports organization was not reconsidering the players' criminal liability, but rather whether their conduct violated the rules and standards of behaviour applicable within the federation's system. Hockey Canada did not publicly release the complete evidentiary record or the appeal board's detailed reasoning, so it is not possible to compare the individual factual findings of the sporting and criminal proceedings beyond what the institutions officially published.
The disciplinary process lasted for years
Hockey Canada's process has its roots in 2018, when the federation says it launched an investigation under the investigation and adjudication rules then in force. In November 2022, the final investigative report by the law firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP, dealing with allegations involving members of the 2018 junior national team, was submitted to an independent arbitration panel. The panel was then tasked with determining whether individual players had violated Hockey Canada's code of conduct and, if so, imposing appropriate sanctions. The panel's final report was delivered to the parties involved in November 2023, but an appeal was filed shortly thereafter. Hockey Canada did not publish the findings at the time because the proceedings and documents were confidential.
In September 2024, the federation announced that the independent appeal board had postponed the appeal hearing until the conclusion of the criminal trial of the five players. Hockey Canada then confirmed that all five would remain suspended from its programs while awaiting the continuation of the appeal process. After the criminal proceedings ended in July 2025, the appeal process could resume, and the final outcome was announced on August 12, 2026. In publishing the decision, the federation stated that the matter within its internal process had thereby been brought to a close. The fact that the appeal extended for almost three years after the first-instance panel's report illustrates how much the sporting and criminal proceedings overlapped in time, while also showing how formally separate they remained.
A Hockey Canada suspension is not the same as a ban from playing in the NHL
An important part of the case is the distinction between the jurisdictions of Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League. The suspensions now confirmed by the Canadian federation apply to programs under its jurisdiction and do not automatically mean a ban on professional play in the NHL or in leagues outside Canada. The NHL conducted its own separate investigation which, according to the league's official statement, it launched in May 2022 after the allegations returned to public attention. The league said its investigation included interviews with the players and other relevant individuals, as well as a review of hundreds of documents, video materials and text messages. That process was paused in January 2024 following the announcement of criminal charges and resumed after the acquittals.
In September 2025, the NHL announced that, taking into account its own investigation, the court decision and the time the players had already spent away from the league, it had established conditions for their return. The league said at the time that the conduct connected with the case had not met the standards and values it expects from players, even though the court had not found criminal liability. All five players became eligible to sign NHL contracts as of October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games as of December 1, 2025. The NHL thus separately concluded its own disciplinary response, while Hockey Canada's process remained open until the appeal board's decision in August 2026. Two different regimes can therefore simultaneously result in a player being eligible for a professional league while still being ineligible for programs of the national federation.
The players returned to professional hockey through different paths
The difference between those systems is already visible in the subsequent careers of the individual players. Carter Hart returned to the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights and played for the club during the 2026 playoffs, including the Stanley Cup Final. Dillon Dubé signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Blues on July 1, 2026, after previously playing in the AHL for the Springfield Thunderbirds. Michael McLeod played for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2025/26 season. Cal Foote played for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, while Swedish club Färjestad BK announced in late July 2026 that it was ending its planned cooperation with him following reactions from supporters, members, partners and other stakeholders. Alex Formenton has continued his career in Switzerland in recent seasons.
Those professional engagements do not alter Hockey Canada's decision because the national federation and clubs or leagues operate under different regulatory frameworks. Hart, for example, can be an active NHL player while simultaneously remaining excluded from Hockey Canada programs until November 10, 2027. Dubé's suspension lasts another year beyond that, while McLeod's term extends to November 2030. Foote is closest to the end of his sanction, on November 10, 2026, but even after that date any path toward the national team would involve the additional screening that the federation announced for all candidates connected with the 2018 team. Formenton is the only one of the five who, by the appeal board's decision, immediately regained eligibility to participate in federation programs, subject to the same enhanced screening requirement if he is considered for representing Canada internationally.
Confidentiality leaves important questions without a public answer
The biggest unknown after the conclusion of the appeal process remains the reasoning behind the different sanctions. Hockey Canada confirmed only the final dates, the fact that the appeal board found a code violation by all five players, and that the federation accepted the recommended terms. No details were released about which provisions of the code were individually violated, how the evidence was assessed, or why one player was reinstated immediately while others received suspensions of different lengths. The federation explains that the investigation was launched under older rules that provide for confidentiality of the investigative and arbitration process and require related documents to be kept confidential to the greatest extent possible. This limits the public's ability to independently assess the relationship between the findings and the sanctions.
At the same time, Hockey Canada places the decision within a broader process of changing the safety and governance system in Canadian hockey. The federation says that in 2022 it became a full signatory to the Abuse-Free Sport system and the then Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, and in 2025 transitioned to the new Canadian Safe Sport program, which now receives reports of abuse and other forms of prohibited conduct involving members of Hockey Canada's national teams. The organization also says that since 2022 it has introduced a series of changes in education, training, sport integrity and corporate governance. The final decision in the 2018 junior national team case, however, was made under the earlier disciplinary framework, which Hockey Canada cites as the reason why much of the process remains outside public view.
For four players, the decision of August 12, 2026, therefore does not close every sporting question, but establishes precise deadlines until which they cannot participate in Hockey Canada programs. For Formenton, the disciplinary ban ended immediately, while Foote, Hart, Dubé and McLeod must wait until their individual reinstatement dates. The acquittals from July 2025 remain the outcome of a criminal trial in which the prosecution did not prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, while the internal sporting process ended with a separate conclusion that all five players violated the federation's code of conduct. That distinction between criminal liability, professional eligibility and the rules of a national sports federation remains the central fact of the case. The future national-team status of each of them, even after their suspensions expire, will depend on additional screening and decisions by Hockey Canada at the time of any potential consideration for the national team.
Sources:
- Hockey Canada – decision of the independent appeal board of August 12, 2026, suspension dates, status of the other players and enhanced screening rules (link)
- Hockey Canada – November 2023 announcement on the independent arbitration panel's report and the filing of an appeal (link)
- Hockey Canada – September 2024 announcement on the postponement of the appeal process until the conclusion of the criminal trial (link)
- NHL – official statement of September 11, 2025, on its own investigation and the conditions for the five players' return to the league (link)
- CanLII Blog – review of the judgment R. v. McLeod et al., 2025 ONSC 4319 and the context of the June 2018 events (link)
- Jurisource – expert summary of the judgment R. v. McLeod et al., including the standard of proof and the acquittals (link)
- The Canadian Press / CityNews – overview of the 2026 decision and the current professional status of the five players (link)
- St. Louis Blues – official announcement of Dillon Dubé's contract dated July 1, 2026 (link)
- Färjestad BK – official announcement of July 30, 2026, on ending cooperation with Cal Foote (link)