Hockey Canada Will No Longer Use National Equity Funds to Settle Sexual Assault Claims
Hockey Canada confirmed today that the organization will no longer deploy money from the National Equity Fund to settle future claims of sexual assault. Meaning they likely expect future sexual assault claims, for one thing. But that also means player registration fees, among other things, will no longer be used to cover nefarious activity. Instead, the funds will be deployed fully on safety, wellness & equity initiatives.
Hockey Canada is under the full weight of both the Canadian government & the court of public opinion, and they are scrambling to make amends. This incident has tarnished one of Canada's most iconic institutions. Parents have to trust this organization with the interests of their children, after all. 'Accountability' is a buzzword in the hockey community; to your teammates, to your coaches, to yourself. You must always be accountable. That is a core principle preached at a young age. To see such a failure at its highest level, Hockey Canada has a long, tenuous road ahead en route to fixing its reputation.
The London Police Department, whose jurisdiction the alleged incident falls under, has opened an official query into the case & how it was internally handled. They will determine whether or not further action could have been & should be taken.
Full statement from Steve Williams, London's Chief of Police:
To ensure due diligence, given the serious nature of this allegation, I have directed that an internal review of the investigation be conducted to determine what, if any, additional investigative avenues may exist. While this review will be initiated immediately, there is no predetermined timeline for its completion.
The London Police Service is committed to thoroughly investigating all complaints of sexual assault. Along with our community partners, we will fully support those who come forward and we encourage anyone who has experienced sexual violence to report the incident to police so that the matter can be investigated.
Further information will be released as appropriate."
Further to this report, the NHL's investigation had another development today. TSN's Rick Westhead today reported that lawyers representing the CHL players will provide the NHL with 35 text messages along with video evidence having transpired between one player & the woman who came forward with the allegations. Westhead also mentions that, if necessary, lawyers will submit relevant text messages between the players.
There will surely be more to this story, but for now the evidence for the defense is stacking up rather quickly. Some might say too quickly, but that is not for me to say.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Patrick Maroon | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Lukas Reichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Connor Murphy | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Craig Smith | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nolan Allan | - | - | - | |
| Joey Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Emil Andrae | - | - | - | |
| Connor Bedard | - | - | - | |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | - | - | - | |
| Bobby Brink | - | - | - | |
| T.J. Brodie | - | - | - | |
| Noah Cates | - | - | - | |
| Sean Couturier | - | - | - | |
| Louis Crevier | - | - | - | |
| Jason Dickinson | - | - | - | |
| Ryan Donato | - | - | - | |
| Joel Farabee | - | - | - | |
| Tyson Foerster | - | - | - | |
| Nick Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Morgan Frost | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||