Cale Makar's agent responds to sexual assault involving 2018 Canadian World Junior team.

There has been a great deal of discussion in the hockey community this week regarding an alleged sexual assault that took place In June of 2018, one that allegedly involved 8 Canadian Hockey League players including members of the team sent by Canada to the 2018 World Junior Championships. That talk has been sparked by news regarding the lawsuit brought forth by the alleged victim in this incident, a woman whose identity has been protected, news that broke when the lawsuit came to an end when a settlement was reached by all of the parties involved.

The identity of those involved in this alleged assault has never been revealed but given the involvement of at least some of the alleged assailants in the 2018 World Junior Championship many have begun to speculate about players in the NHL that could have potentially been involved. This of course has resulted in the finger being pointed, at least some of the time, at the wrong people. While my thoughts are with the victim here, it can't be an easy thing to have your name dragged through the mud as an alleged sexual abuser when you are an innocent person, and unsurprisingly we now have a strong response from at least one of the players that was on that Canadian World Junior team in 2018.

On Saturday, veteran National Hockey League journalist Ken Campbell reported speaking with Brian Bartlett, who represents Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, and Bartlett defended his client. According to Campbell the agent informed him that not only was Makar not involved in the alleged sexual assault that took place in 2018, but added that his client had cooperated with the investigation into the matter.

There's a good chance Makar was disgusted at the thought of his name being associated with such acts and it may even be that he compelled his representatives to clear his name in this matter. Given the heinous nature of the accusations in this case, I can hardly blame him for doing so.

Here is how TSN's Rick Westhead described the incident:

The plaintiff claimed players assaulted her for hours before directing her to shower.

She also alleged players pressured her to say she was sober while they video recorded her, not to report them to police, and not to cooperate with police after a criminal investigation began.

The woman, now 24, claimed Hockey Canada was made aware of the alleged assaults & failed to investigate or sanction the players involved.

Hockey Canada says it advised local police & commissioned an independent investigation. The results of any such investigation are not public.