Many of you are already familiar with the scandalous story of the rape of a 20-year-old girl by members of the Canadian junior team, which won the tournament in 2018. For those who haven’t heard, here’s a brief summary of the story: The alleged act of violence took place at a celebratory dinner celebrating the Canadian team’s victory in the tournament. However, the girl’s lawsuit, which was directed against the Canadian Hockey Federation, the junior team, and the eight players who were part of that championship squad, was only filed in 2022. Its value was $3.5 million.
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In January 2024, five players were given early leave, four of whom were playing in the NHL at the time. We are talking about Cal Foote and Michael MacLeod, who represented New Jersey, Dillon Dube, who played in Calgary, Carter Hart, who defended the goal for Philadelphia, and Alex Formentone, who later played in Switzerland.
Let’s see how the fate of the above-mentioned players turned out. Not all of them found a team and some had to give up hockey altogether.
Carter Hart
Position – no club
Carter is the primary goaltender on the junior team that won the tournament in 2018. Hart had a great time, playing almost every game. The following season, Carter made his NHL debut and immediately established himself in Philadelphia, earning a one-month rookie of the month award. Last year, many NHL teams tried to trade Hart, but the process was hampered by the scandal.
Carter Hart
Photo: Derik Hamilton/AP/TASS
This summer, many KHL teams were interested in Hart. But the Canadian set a price that scared away all potential beneficiaries. Carter has not yet found a team, but he may soon appear in Europe.
Michael MacLeod
Position: Moved to Barys
New Jersey spent the 12th pick in the first round on MacLeod in 2016, placing high hopes on Michael. Perhaps it didn’t quite justify them, but he certainly didn’t disappoint. Each year, MacLeod became more and more of a team leader, and the statistics grew inexorably. Sergei Brylin, assistant coach of New Jersey, said about him: “Michael himself was the engine of our team. When we lost him, he was actually ranked first in the league in faceoffs.”
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If the players had not had to appear in court in April 2025, it is strongly believed that the fight for him would have taken place between the top clubs. And so “Barys” took advantage of the situation and, judging by the pre-season, he was wrong.
Dillon Dubé
Position: Transferred to Dynamo Minsk
Dube is a man who played on the front line at that World Junior Championships and also scored against the Swedes in the final. After spending several years on the Calgary farm, Dillon managed to grow into the main team, and last year he became one of the leaders of the “Sparks”. However, last season was terrible, apparently the pressure exerted on Dube had an effect.
Dillon Dubé
Photo: Paul Sancya/AP/TASS
The same thing happened with Dube as with MacLeod. The Russian giants rejected the idea of signing a hockey player who would leave the team in the middle of the playoffs. But Dinamo Minsk, which has improved significantly in the last off-season, was not scared by this fact.
Cal Foote
Position – no club
Cal Foote was drafted by Tampa Bay in the first round in 2017, but it wasn’t until 2020 that competition from the Lightning allowed Cal to get close to the starting lineup. Foote was traded to Nashville in 2023 for Tanner Jeanneau. Yes, the one for whom, in addition to Foote, they gave up half the kingdom.
Cal’s situation is clearly more difficult than the players described above. First, Foote spent last season almost non-stop in the AHL and second, he’s a homebody and those players will find it harder to find work outside of North America.
Alex Formenton
Position: Retired from playing career
Formenton’s NHL career ended rather abruptly and strangely. Alex scored 32 points in the 2021/2022 season, having the best season of his career, but he did not receive an offer for a new contract from Ottawa. He then spent two rather dull years in Switzerland and ended his career.
It has now become known that the Canadian is working on a construction site, trying to learn the basics of a new business. Alex needs work, among other things, to pay for a lawyer. This was the turn of events for the man who put an end to the final of the World Junior Championships and won gold with his team.
