MEDIA ADVISORY - NHL ALUMNI AND OLYMPIANS JOIN BAYCREST IN THE FIGHT TO END ALZHEIMER'S FOR THE ANNUAL MCOCI PRO-AM FOR ALZHEIMER'S™
To date, the tournament has raised more than $35 million to help Baycrest " Stick It to Alzheimer's".
Media are invited to cover the events and interview NHL alumni, Olympians, Baycrest spokespeople and tournament participants.
Please contact Natasha Nacevski-Laird, Media Relations Specialist at Baycrest to confirm your attendance and schedule interviews: [email protected].
PHOTO/INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
DRAFT NIGHT
EVENT DAY 1 INCLUDING CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
WHO:
• NHL alumni including Darryl Sittler, Eric Lindros and Pierre Turgeon and Olympians Angela James and Lori Dupuis
• Josh Cooper, President and CEO, Baycrest Foundation
• Tammy Johnson, Chief of Events and Sponsorship, Baycrest Foundation
• Tournament participants including co-chairs Joey Arfin and David Lewenberg
WHAT:
Games run all day, highlighted by the 2025 MCOCI Pro-Am Championship Game at
1:45 p.m. which will see the top two fundraising teams face off with the support of their drafted hockey pro.
WHERE:
Scotiabank Pond at Downsview Park – 57 Carl Hall Rd., Toronto, ON M3K 2E2
WHEN:
Friday, May 2, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the Championship Game at 1:45 p.m.
EVENT DAY 2, INCLUDING ALL-STAR GAME & FAMILY SKATE
WHO:
• NHL alumni including Darryl Sittler, Eric Lindros and Pierre Turgeon and Olympians Angela James and Lori Dupuis
• Josh Cooper, President and CEO, Baycrest Foundation
• Tammy Johnson, Chief of Events and Sponsorship, Baycrest Foundation
• Tournament participants including co-chairs Joey Arfin and David Lewenberg
WHAT:
As the tournament comes to a close, the top 20 individual fundraisers will play in the MCOCI Pro-Am All-Star Game
alongside NHL alumni and Olympians at 1:30 p.m.
There will also be a Family Skate at noon where fans of all ages can get pictures and autographs with their favourite
hockey legends until 1:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Scotiabank Pond at Downsview Park – 57 Carl Hall Rd., Toronto, ON M3K 2E2
WHEN:
Saturday May 3, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the All-Star Game at 1:30 p.m.
About Baycrest
At Baycrest, our vision is a world where every older person lives with purpose, fulfilment and dignity. Baycrest is a global leader in aging and brain health innovation, with over 105 years of expertise in seniors' care and cutting-edge research. Baycrest has been Designated with Exemplary Status by Accreditation Canada, and drives industry-leading care and safety outcomes. As the home of the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) powered by Baycrest, the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education (BARE) and the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, Baycrest is at the forefront of dementia research. Affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest's training programs shape the future of care globally, while Baycrest Global Solutions extends its expertise to senior living and healthcare internationally. For more information, visit: baycrest.org.
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CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
NHLPA pushes back after NHL says five players acquitted of sexual assault ineligible
The NHL logo is seen on a goal at a Nashville Predators practice rink in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 17, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Mark Humphrey The five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team were acquitted in the high-profile London, Ont., sexual assault trial Thursday, but the jury is still out on whether or not they'll be able to resume their NHL careers. A few hours after the judge's decision, the NHL said Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote would be ineligible to play while the league reviews the findings. The NHLPA responded that its players should 'have the opportunity to return to work.' The players were found not guilty of all charges in an encounter with a woman in a hotel room seven years ago, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled. The NHL stated the allegations in the case were 'very disturbing,' even if not deemed criminal. The league also called the behaviour of the players 'unacceptable.' 'We will be reviewing and considering the judge's findings,' the statement read. 'While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the league.' The NHLPA said ruling the players ineligible while the NHL further evaluates the case does not align with the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. 'Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod were acquitted of all charges by Justice Carroccia of the Ontario Superior Court,' the NHLPA's statement read. 'After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work. The NHL's declaration that the Players are 'ineligible' to play pending its further analysis of the Court's findings is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA. 'We are addressing this dispute with the League and will have no further comment at this time.' McLeod, Hart, Dubé and Foote were active NHL players at the time of their 2024 arrests, which came days after all four players were granted leave from their clubs. Formenton, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, has not played in the NHL since 2022. At the time of the incident in 2018, Formenton had played one NHL game, while Foote, McLeod and Dubé had brief stints with their clubs' American Hockey League affiliates. While the NHL's review is taking place, experts believe it's possible players will eventually return to the NHL ice. Ann Pegoraro, a sport management professor at the University of Guelph, said the NHL has not often come down hard on cases of sexual assault or domestic violence. She added that teams would evaluate whether the benefits of a player's talent outweigh the risks of fan backlash and potential loss of sponsors. 'Hockey has a very different culture and has a lot more, I would say, latitude in the way that they look at individuals' personal behaviours,' Pegoraro said. 'Do I think they'll end up back on teams? I think if their skills are good enough, some teams — not all teams — but some teams will look the other way and put them back on rosters if they can contribute to the team.' Though the players were not convicted, their reputations may still carry the weight of the allegations, said Richard McLaren, a law professor at Western University and a longtime member of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. 'I've seen that in many sexual harassment type situations, and it doesn't just disappear because the case is over,' said McLaren, who's also a labour and commercial arbitrator and mediator with McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP. There are recent examples of people returning to the NHL despite being at the centre of sexual assault controversies. In 2022, the Edmonton Oilers signed Jake Virtanen to a professional tryout less than two months after the former Vancouver Canuck was found not guilty in a sexual assault trial in Vancouver. 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And especially if you consider that the vast majority of the NHL is in the United States, there's a pretty significant cultural shift going on down there where the rights of women are under attack.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025. Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Calls for hockey culture change continue after decision in sexual assault trial
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'I'm sure they're going to have women with the women's team, but it's the guys that need to change. We don't have this happening with female athletes.' A 2022 open letter to Canada's sports minister and a parliamentary committee signed by 28 sport academics from 21 universities stated 'sexual violence and misogyny are deeply rooted problems in men's ice hockey.' Thursday's decision didn't alter Toronto Metropolitan University associate professor Laurel Walzak's belief that culture change is needed in hockey. 'I'm still really concerned as I was in 2022, probably the same concern,' she said. 'I signed the letter as a very concerned person related to hockey in Canada. 'I go back to this letter and I feel like another letter needs to be written. We can copy and paste it, actually. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'We need to continue to keep a really close eye on Hockey Canada from a national level, provincial level, local level, all the levels and questioning what's happening. We cannot forget the amount of money that Hockey Canada had in its power to be able to hide and keep things secret.' An advocacy group for abuse survivors in sport stated Thursday's legal decision 'risks reinforcing the very culture of silence and impunity that survivors of sexual violence in sport have long fought to dismantle.' 'We are concerned this verdict will have a chilling effect,' said Athletes Empowered managing director and former gymnast Amelia Cline in a statement. 'Survivors watching this case unfold may now feel even more reluctant to speak up, fearing that their pain will be minimized, their experiences invalidated, and justice nearly impossible to achieve.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.
CTV News
13 hours ago
- CTV News
Gasps and tears in courtroom as former junior hockey players found not guilty
Hugs, tears and sighs of relief filled a London, Ont. courtroom as five former members of Canada's junior hockey team on trial for sexual assault were found not guilty. Family members of the defendants filled the first row of seating in courtroom 21, while Justice Maria Carroccia read her opening remarks. She said the complainant in the case, known as E.M., did not present credible testimony and that prosecutors could not meet the onus of proof for the charges against Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote. When those remarks were made, family members of the defendants audibly gasped and tears began flowing. As the verdicts were being read, McLeod and Hart's mothers could be seen in the front row of the courtroom holding hands. All five players pleaded not guilty to sexual assault after an encounter that took place in a London, Ont., hotel room in the early hours of June 19, 2018. Years of speculation regarding the allegations — fueled by a lawsuit settlement, parliamentary hearings and revived investigations by the police and Hockey Canada, along with an NHL investigation — all preceded a complex trial earlier this year that included a mistrial and the dismissal of the jury, leaving the verdict to Carroccia. Over the course of about five hours, Carroccia explained her reasoning for the acquittals in detail, highlighting the complainant's 'tendency to blame others' for inconsistencies in her allegations. 'For instance, she said that Det. Newtown spoke over her and cut her off when he took a statement, so that impacted on her answers. She also blamed her civil lawyers for inconsistencies and failing to catch the quote errors in her July 2022 statement — evidence that specifically contradicts the evidence of the complainant. Some of the complainant's testimony in chief was proven to be wrong once compared to legal evidence,' said Carroccia. She also said the woman went to 'great lengths' to point out that she was really drunk through the course of the night, but that is not supported by surveillance video from a bar and hotel that night and the testimony of others. 'In my view, the complainant [EM] exaggerated her intoxication. When confronted with inconsistencies or when she was unable to explain why she acted in a certain way, and defaulted to say It was because she was drunk,' Carroccia added. Michael McLeod faced an additional charge of 'party to the offense,' which was dismissed. The players, who are now between the ages of 25 and 27, were in London at the time of the events in question for a gala and golf tournament marking their 2018 World Junior Championship victory. E.M. testified in May that she was naked, drunk and scared when four of the men showed up unexpectedly in her room at the Delta Hotel London Armouries and felt the only 'safe' option was to do what they wanted. Prosecutors argued the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure she was voluntarily consenting to sexual acts. 'I made the choice to dance with them and drink at the bar, I did not make the choice to have them do what they did back at the hotel,' she testified. Defense attorneys cross-examined her for days and suggested she actively participated in or initiated sexual activity because she wanted a 'wild night.' Two short videos of the complainant taken by McLeod the night of the encounter were played in court. In one, the woman says it was 'all consensual,' though she told the court that wasn't how she truly felt. As it relates to the videos, Carroccia said 'While speaking on the video, E.M. does not display any signs of intoxication. She has no difficulty speaking. … She is not slurring her words and speaks clearly and coherently.' Protesters gathered outside a packed London courthouse on Thursday morning, holding signs that signaled support for the complainant. The public didn't learn of the allegations for years. Police closed their initial investigation without charges in early 2019, but the complainant sued Hockey Canada in 2022. The organization settled the lawsuit amid intense scrutiny that cost it sponsors, but police reopened their investigation. The players' identities were made public when they were charged in early 2024. At the time, four of them played in the NHL — Dube for the Calgary Flames, Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers, and McLeod and Foote for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton had previously played for the Ottawa Senators before joining a Swiss team. All went on indefinite leave, and none is on an NHL roster or has an active contract with a team in the league. The NHL launched its own investigation in 2022. Officials pledged to release the findings, though Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February that would depend on what the league can say given legal proceedings. The London Police Service acknowledges the verdict delivered today by Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia in the sexual assault trial involving five former members of Canada's 2018 National Junior Hockey Team. As a police service, our role in the justice system is… — LPS Chief Thai Truong (@LPSChiefTruong) July 24, 2025 — With files from The Canadian Press
