Five players, five deadlines: Hockey Canada’s decision raises questions

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Five players, five deadlines: Hockey Canada’s decision raises questions
Credit: Candice Ward/Getty Images

Hockey Canada issued a press release today.

What's it about? It concerns the fact that an independent appeals committee has rendered its decision regarding the members of the 2018 National Junior Team.

In the middle of August, it's bound to go unnoticed.

In short, today Hockey Canada was informed of the conclusion of the appeal process related to a report issued on November 10, 2023.

Hockey Canada's Code of Conduct was violated (which is not the same as criminal court cases) by five players, and recommendations were made—and accepted by Hockey Canada—regarding certain suspensions currently in effect.

And what we're seeing is that the five players at the center of this story did not all receive the same end date for their suspensions from Hockey Canada.

Alex Formenton, for example, is reinstated immediately. Cal Foote, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, and Michael McLeod will be eligible for reinstatement… but not in the same year.

  • Foote: November 10, 2026
  • Hart: November 10, 2027
  • Dubé: November 10, 2028
  • McLeod: November 10, 2030

Naturally, one might wonder why the players didn't receive the same suspension. And on that point, Hockey Canada's press release offers no answer.

We can only speculate that the appeals committee concluded that Formenton did not act in the same way as McLeod, for example, in this case. But that is merely our interpretation.

At this point, Hockey Canada is leaving everything open to interpretation.

It's worth noting that today's case involves Hockey Canada, not the NHL—a league where players can return. It's also worth noting that the five players were cleared of one or two charges in 2025.

The only one facing two charges was McLeod—the very player who cannot return to Hockey Canada until 2030. Are there connections to be drawn, even though he was acquitted?

In reality, the update raises more questions than anything else.


In a nutshell

– Note.

– Well done.

– Makes sense.

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