2018 World Junior case: Alex Formenton walks away from hockey!

Alex Formenton is done with hockey at just 24 years old. CBC has obtained that claims that Formenton has “moved on from a hockey career” and now works full time in construction.

He’s receiving “ongoing training in the operation of heavy equipment as well as the administration aspects of his new trade.”

It feels like I don’t have to mention that Formenton was one of the five players that has been charged, along with Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod, with one count of sexual assault, with McLeod also facing an additional charge (being party to the offence) in the 2018 World Junior alleged sexual assault.

It’s alleged the incident occurred following a Hockey Canada gala in Ontario in June 2018, when the players were honoured for their victory at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Court documents from 2022 revealed London police believed they had reasonable grounds to accuse five players of sexually assaulting a young woman in a hotel room.

Since then, respective NHL teams have cut ties with the players, however, McLeod and Dube have signed deals in Europe, while Hart and Foote continue to train.

Back in 2017, Formenton was selected in the second round by the Ottawa Senators and played 109 games for the club. He became a restricted free agent in 2021, right around the time the allegations surfaced and that’s when he took his career to Switzerland, where he spent the past two seasons.

Formenton might be looking to finance what it is going to be a long trial…

While awaiting the trial, a judge has allowed the five players to skip pretrial legal arguments for “compelling economic reasons.” Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said, “It is clear each of the applicants has a need to work or find work not only to sustain themselves, but to pay their expenses, which at this point include legal fees.”

In terms of the upcoming trial, which begins one year from now in September 2025, the lawyers of all five players involved will plead not guilty.