Cale Makar, Brett Howden, Sam Steel, Taylor Raddysh, Drake Batherson, Robert Thomas, and others called as witnesses in Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal

Michael McLeod(27) is charged with two counts of sexual assault, of which one count includes aiding in the offense. Dillion Dube(26), Cal Foote(26), Alex Formenton(25), and Carter Hart(26) are each charged with one count of sexual assault. The incident happened in June 2018 in a London hotel room during a 2018 Hockey Canada gala. The trial of the high-profile case against five former Canadian NHL players began on Tuesday.

In that trial, current NHL players, some of whom are playing for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, may be called upon as witnesses. Some of the NHL players named in the witness list are Cale Makar, Brett Howden, Sam Steel, Taylor Raddysh, Drake Batherson, Robert Thomas, Maxime Comtois, Boris Katchouk, Brett Howden, Jonah Gadjovich, Dante Fabbro, Tyler Steenbergen, Conor Timmins, Jake Bean, and more. The list was shared by Rick Westhead, Senior Correspondent for TSN, through his official X account on April 22, 2025.


Cale Makar is a 26-year-old Canadian ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Colorado Avalanche,
Brett Howden is a 27-year-old Canadian ice hockey center for the Vegas Golden Knights,

Sam Steel is a 27-year-old Canadian ice hockey center for the Dallas Stars,
Taylor Raddysh is a 27-year-old Canadian ice hockey forward for the Washington Capitals,

Drake Batherson is a 26-year-old American-born Canadian ice hockey right winger for the Ottawa Senators and
Robert Thomas is a 25-year-old Canadian ice hockey center and alternate captain for the St. Louis Blues).
All these players are currently playing for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They may be called upon as witnesses in the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal through Zoom Call.

As Rick Westhead, an Award-winning Investigative Journalist, reported, the names were read aloud by Crown Attorney Meaghan Cunningham. Rick Westhead also reported on April 22 that Jury selection was done for the case. It included 14 jurors, out of which 11 were women, and 3 were men. 14 jurors were selected instead of 12 because some trials could be extraordinarily long.

On April 23, 2025, Rick Westhead shared on X platform, "who wants to be in a 3 way quick. 209- mikey." Crown attorney Heather Donkers told a court this is the text message Michael McLeod sent to his Team Canada teammates that set the stage for an hours-long alleged group sexual assault. Donkers said that days after the incident in June 2018, players connected on a team group chat "making sure they all said the same thing to investigators." An X user commented, "Group chat is gonna be the slam dunk in this case."

On April 23, Rick Westhead also shared on his X platform, "Crown attorney Heather Donkers addressed the jury of 11 women and 3 men, making details behind the criminal allegations against five former members of Canada's 2018 world junior team public for the first time. Donkers alleged Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton both had vaginal sex with E.M. without her consent.
Donkers also alleged that McLeod, Carter Hart, and Dillon Dubé obtained oral sex without consent, that Dubé slapped E.M.'s naked buttocks without consent, and that without her consent, Foote did the “splits” over E.M.'s face while she lay on the ground, “grazing his genitals over her face.”
The alleged sexual assaults took place in Room 209 at the Delta hotel in London, Ont. in June 2018."
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