Hockey Canada players' lawyers back in London court as case speeds ahead

The defence lawyers for Michael McLeod, 26, Alex Formenton, 24, Cal Foote, 25, Dillon Dube, 25, and Sherwood Park’s Carter Hart, 25, appeared briefly in London’s Superior Court of Justice monthly scheduling court on Tuesday morning to begin the process of selecting a trial date.

Unlike the usual slow pace that is routine in the criminal justice system, the defence announced last month it had waived a preliminary hearing and asked the case be sent from the Ontario Court of Justice to the Superior Court of Justice to be tried by a judge and jury.

The five players, four of whom played this season in the National Hockey League, were charged in January, six years after allegations a woman was sexually assaulted at a London hotel in June 2018 when Canada’s 2018 world junior team reunited here for a fundraising event months after winning gold.