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Cale Makar Voices Out After Getting Banned From The Olympics

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Graham Montgomery
February 6, 2024  (3:52 PM)
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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar
Photo credit: Sportsnet

There have been many recent developments into the investigation of the 2018 Hockey Canada scandal. Among them is the fact that all players from that team have been banned from Hockey Canada events until further notice.

Hockey Canada Suspends All Players From 2018 World Junior Championship Team

The organization announced yesterday that all players from the 2018 World Junior Championship team have been suspended indefinitely. The move comes as London police announced charges for the five players allegedly involved in the incident that lead to the investigation in the first place.

Pending the completion of the appeal process, all players from the 2018 National Junior Team remain suspended by Hockey Canada, and are ineligible to play, coach, officiate or volunteer with Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs.

That being said, Elliotte Friedman confirmed that these players will still be allowed to participate in next year's four nations event, as it is being hosted by the NHL, not Hockey Canada.

As part of this statement, Hockey Canada says all players from that team remain suspended from international competition under its umbrella. Next year's Four Nations Faceoff is not part of this, as it is an NHL/NHLPA event

Makar Addresses Unfair Ban From Hockey Canada Events

Throughout the entire investigation, Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has maintained that he was not involved in the alleged criminal incident. As such, he voiced his frustrations following news that all players from the team would be banned from Hockey Canada events for the foreseeable future.

«It's tough. I've been told not to comment on that ongoing investigation. I've been straightforward from the start. I wasn't there. It was a very fortunate bounce to not obviously be a part of something like that. I'm just going to leave it to the people who are handling the work right now. I can't stress enough that I wasn't part of that.»

That being said, many believe that this decision will be reversed or at least altered in some way prior to the 2026 winter games. After all, Makar is arguably the best Canadian defenseman in the world and he is certainly the biggest impact player to come from that 2018 WJC team. Canada would be shooting themselves in the foot were they to go to the Olympics without him.

Only time will tell whether or not Hockey Canada upholds this ruling. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned for more updates on this rapidly evolving story.

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Cale Makar Voices Out After Getting Banned From The Olympics

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