As controversy and investigation into a 2018 incident involving the Canadian World Junior team rage on, Hockey Canada is taking sweeping action against the entire team. Cale Makar, Jordan Kyrou, Drake Batherson, and the rest of the players will reportedly not be eligible to represent their country in the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
“Earlier this year, Hockey Canada made a decision that until the investigation and adjudicative process of the alleged incident in 2018 are complete, no players from the 2018 National Junior Team will be considered for participation for Team Canada,” Hockey Canada said in a statement sent to Sportsnet on Monday. “This has been communicated to the management group for Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship.”
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Sportsnet NHL insider Rick Westhead broke the news, just like he was one of the first to break the news on the incident that spurred the suspension. In October of last year, London Police Services “submitted a filing with the Ontario Court of Justice, saying they had reasonable grounds to believe five members of the 2018 world junior hockey team sexually assaulted a woman after a fundraising event,” according to previous reports on the incident.
It was later revealed that Hockey Canada reached a settlement with the woman in question, which was followed by widespread firings, lost sponsorship deals, and scrutiny from government officials in the wake of the report.
The IIHF Men’s World Championship is set to be co-hosted in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia, from May 12 to 28. Team Canada’s leadership team includes St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman. The duo will serve as Canda’s general manager and associate GM, respectively.