- An independent appeal board found five 2018 World Junior players breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct
- Alex Formenton is reinstated immediately, Carter Hart waits until Nov. 10, 2027
- Read below for every reinstatement date and what it means for the 2028 World Cup
Hockey Canada started the reinstatement clock Wednesday, and Carter Hart is looking at another 15 months on the outside.
Four of the five players from the 2018 National Junior Team stay suspended. Hart becomes eligible again on Nov. 10, 2027. Michael McLeod has to wait until Nov. 10, 2030.
Alex Formenton is the only one reinstated right away.
The federation accepted the recommendation of an independent appeal board, which ruled that all five breached its code of conduct:
Every date lands on Nov. 10, just in different years.
- Alex Formenton: reinstated immediately
- Cal Foote: suspended until Nov. 10, 2026
- Carter Hart: suspended until Nov. 10, 2027
- Dillon Dubé: suspended until Nov. 10, 2028
- Michael McLeod: suspended until Nov. 10, 2030
Take a look at how Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis laid out the full slate:
None of this touches their NHL status. The bans cover Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs only, which means the Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey and the World Championship.
Hart already signed with Vegas and backstopped the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in June. Dillon Dubé joined St. Louis on July 1.
That makes Hart’s date the one worth circling. Nov. 10, 2027 puts him back in the pool roughly three months before the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, and Canada is thin enough in goal that he would get a real look.
The five were acquitted in July 2025 of sexual assault charges stemming from a 2018 Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont. Wednesday’s ruling runs on a separate track and does not change those verdicts.
What Hockey Canada did not do is publish the board’s reasons, spell out which parts of the code each player breached, or explain why Formenton walks free today while McLeod sits until 2030. The three-judge panel was John Laskin, Katherine Swinton and Thomas McEwen, according to the Canadian Press.
As for where the suspended four are playing now, McLeod has another year on his KHL deal with Omsk Avangard. Foote and Formenton are both unrestricted free agents, and Foote’s one-year contract with Färjestad was cancelled two days after he signed it.
Everyone else from that 2018 roster is cleared for consideration, effective immediately. That group includes Cale Makar, Robert Thomas, Drake Batherson and Jordan Kyrou.
