MAJOR: All-Star Defenseman To Miss 2026 Olympics Due To Ongoing Criminal Case

The London police held a press conference today to discuss the 2018 Hockey Canada investigation. As part of the event, they released a formal statement regarding the status of other players from the team. Senior Athletic writer Ian Mendes reported the key parts of the statement on X today, noting that players from that 2018 WJC team continue to be suspended by Hockey Canada.

Fans have correctly pointed out that this would mean players such as Cale Makar will not be eligible to play for Canada at the 2026 Winter Games should the trial have not reached a conclusion by then.

It seems that that will likely be the case as well as there have already been reports about when this case will go to trial. Due to a backlog in Ontario's justice system, the Hockey Canada case is unlikely to reach trial before 2026.

Hopefully, the trial will take place earlier than expected or the other players including Makar will be given an exception so that they can play in the 2026 games. For many of the players on the 2018 WJC team, it may be their only chance to represent Canada at the Olympics. By the 2030 games, these players will be entering their 30s and many will be past their prime, less likely to be chosen for the team. Hopefully that is not the case for Cale Makar.