Jordin Tootoo Makes Statement Over 2003 WJC Allegations
Allegations broke this week, suggesting half a dozen or more players from Canada's 2003 WJC team engaged in a sexual assault during that year's World Junior tournament.
The 2003 roster features over a dozen former & current NHLers:
- Carlo Colaiacovo
- Pierre Parenteau
- Brooks Laich
- Ian White
- Scottie Upshall
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard
- Kyle Wellwood
- Joffrey Lupul
- Jay McClement
- Derek Roy
- Brendan Bell
- Gregory Campbell
- Matthew Stajan
- Jordin Tootoo
- Jeff Woywitka
- Steve Eminger
- Marc-Andre Fleury
- Nathan Paetsch
- Alexandre Rouleau
- David LeNeveu
- Daniel Paille
- Boyd Gordon
So far, D Carlo Coliacovo--currently an analyst for TSN--released a statement denying any involvement or knowledge of said incident. It was only a matter of time before his teammates followed suit.
F Jordin Tootoo also made a statement on the incident, denying involvement/knowledge of the allegations:
My book chronicles many experiences from the tournament when I was age 19, as well as my journey with alcohol addiction, which started at age 14. If I am being totally honest with myself and you, I don't recall knowing or hearing about the incident in question during or after the tournament. I was shocked when I heard about it in the media and will cooperate fully with any investigation."
His reference to his book includes an excerpt many interpreted as an allusion to the gang rape. That excerpt reads:
But frick, we were just kids back then. The shit that we did...we were in Halifax, we were horny young men and we had every goddamned girl hitting on us. What are you going to do? 'Let's start slaying these broads.' And it wasn't just one-on-one action. A few of the guys would get a couple of girls after the practice and head to one of the rooms. Enough said.
We went undefeated through the preliminary round and then beat the Americans 3-2 in the semifinals. The Russians were undefeated as well when we met them in the finals. Of course, Canada versus Russia has been the big hockey rivalry going all the way back to 1972. It felt like the whole country was watching us."
However, nothing in this excerpt can be considered incriminating, although it does allude to the type of culture established in that dressing room. And apparently Hockey Canada as a whole.
Tootoo denying any involvement or knowledge is a big development, as the hockey world will inevitably narrow the list of players down. Canada's 2003 World Junior team features a pretty high-profile list of NHL & Hockey Canada alumni, and the drawbacks of this set of allegations--in addition to the one re: Canada's 2018 team--will surely be severe. The Canadian government is weighing down hard on Hockey Canada over the 2018 allegations, this latest development should only fuel the fire.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Claude Giroux | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Oliver Kylington | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||