Four current National Hocket League players with American Hockey League roots are now absent from their respective clubs.
A crop of former American Hockey League players have been granted a leave of absence from their respective National Hockey League clubs.
Carter Hart of the Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, and Cal Foote and Michael McLeod of the New Jersey Devils, have all been absent from their teams in the past week, with news of the indefinite absence of Foote and McLeod coming today.
Hart, 25, suited up for 18 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the 2018-19 season, putting up a 9-8-1 record with a 3.02 GAA and .902 SP before making the permanent move to the NHL. Hart was selected 48th overall by the Flyers in 2016.
Dube, also 25, was a 56th overall pick of the Calgary Flames in 2016. Dube spent parts of four seasons with the former Stockon Heat, last suiting up for 13 games for a point-per-game pace in 2019-20. He currently has seven points in 43 games with the Flames.
Foote, a right-shot defenseman, was selected 14th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017. He's split time in the Lightning, Nashville and currently the New Jersey organization, where he has one assist in four games. Foote spent parts of five seasons with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, and this season spent 24 games with the Utica Comets, netting nine points.
McLeod, a 25-year-old center, was selected 12th overall by the Devils in 2016. He spent parts of three seasons with the then Binghamton Devils, putting up 57 points in 108 games.
Speculation has run rampant regarding the players given the London Ontario Police Department directing five unnamed members of Hockey Canada’s 2018 World Junior Championship team to surrender into their custody. All five of the above players were on the 2018 roster.
London, Ont., police anticipate they will hold a press conference on Monday, Feb. 5, on an investigation into sexual assault allegations dating back to 2018.