Taylor Raddysh testified in court in the sexual assault trial against five former members of Hockey Canada's 2018 world junior team. (David Kirouac — Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d0875bdf-50ee-48cb-8a56-baf90c876c34.jpeg] Taylor Raddysh testified in court in the sexual assault trial against five former members of Hockey Canada's 2018 world junior team. (David Kirouac — Imagn Images) Washington Capitals forward Taylor Raddysh was the first NHL player to testify in the sexual assault trial against five former members of the Hockey Canada world juniors team. Ex-NHLers Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault related to an incident that allegedly took place back in June 2018 at Delta Armouries in London, Ontario following a Hockey Canada gala to celebrate their world juniors gold medal victory. Raddysh, who was on the team at the time, appeared in court via a video link from Arlington, Virginia, per CBC [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/livestory/recap-nhl-player-testifies-about-group-chat-learning-of-investigation-into-world-junior-teammates-9.6742726]. The Capitals winger does not face any charges and is a witness in the case, having been at the hotel and a member of the 2018 team. According to reports from the testimony, Raddysh didn't have much recollection regarding the events of that night, answering several questions from the Crown with "I don't recall." While he admitted to drinking, he said he did not drink heavily. While Raddysh did go to Jack's bar with the team, where players first encountered E.M., the alleged victim, he said he didn't have recollection of what went on that night, what time he arrived or what time he left. Raddysh said he returned to his hotel room, which was next to the room where the incident allegedly took place, according to Sportsnet [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/taylor-raddysh-testifies-in-hockey-sexual-assault-trial/]. He and FaceTimed his girlfriend, and that no one else was with him in the room at that time. He does recall, however, that his roommate, Brett Howden, returned to the room at one point and woke him up. He also said he saw McLeod, Boris Katchouk and a woman when he went into the room for "a very short time." CBC also reported [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/livestory/recap-nhl-player-testifies-about-group-chat-learning-of-investigation-into-world-junior-teammates-9.6742726] that McLeod texted Raddysh separately from the group chat the players were in at 2:15 a.m. asking if he wanted to come to his hotel room for a "gummer," which Raddysh clarified was a termfor oral sex, but Raddysh did not respond. Raddysh told the court that Shawn Bullock, a Hockey Canada executive, called to tell him there was an investigation into that night. He called his dad, and then messaged McLeod and Howden. Raddysh was dismissed at 4 p.m. due to Game 5 between the Capitals and Canadiens, which he is a healthy scratch for. He will resume testimony on Thursday.
