Player accused of horrible crime gets second chance with team to play

A few weeks ago, it was made known around the hockey world that Michael McLeod may have been getting a second chance to play hockey again, even though he was charged for a horrible crime committed in 2018 after the World Junior Championships. That second chance has come true, as he's just signed to play with Barys Astana over in Russia.

Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were the other players involved in this case, and they were all charged with one count in court, with McLeod being the only player to also get charged with a second count (being a party to the offence).

The crime was alleged to have been committed right after a Hockey Canada gala night in Ontario, Canada, back in June 2018, when the players were being recognized for their win at the World Junior Championship.

Court documents were released in 2022 that led the London, Ontario police to charge the five players for what they deemed to have been an awful crime against a young woman in a hotel room.

All five players were subsequently cut from their NHL teams, and it will be difficult for them to ever step foot in the league again. Michael McLeod appears to be getting a second chance overseas now after he signed with his new club.

Players often go to Russia when things don't go as planned in North America, as there is less of a spotlight over there, so they can focus on the game more. One of the players involved in this scandal is Dillon Dube, and he signed over in Russia last month with the Dinamo Minsk.

McLeod is only 26, and threw away his bright future by committing these crimes. He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the first round, 12th overall at the 2016 draft. He played in 287 games in the NHL, scoring 29 goals and adding 56 assists. He also accumulated 164 penalty minutes.

Source: Hockey Feed
One of the accused players from the 2018 World Junior case signs new contract!

Source: HockeyDB
Michael McLeod Stats