Former world junior hockey player tears up at ex-teammates’ sexual assault trial

A former member of Canada’s world junior hockey team briefly broke down in tears Thursday at the sexual assault trial of five of his ex-teammates as he faced questions over texts he sent a week after the encounter at the heart of the case.

Brett Howden teared up as he acknowledged feeling scared and nervous after learning Hockey Canada had launched an investigation into the June 19, 2018, encounter and realizing he would have to explain the situation to his parents and his girlfriend, now his wife.

“One of the hardest things to go through was explaining this to my family,” he said.

Howden was being questioned during a voir-dire — essentially a trial within a trial — over a text conversation he had with another then-teammate, Taylor Raddysh, on June 26, 2018.

In the exchange, Howden recounts some of the events of that night, including a moment when he said one of the accused, Dillon Dube, slapped the complainant on the buttocks.

“Dude, I’m so happy I left when all the s–t went down haha,” the message reads. “When I was leaving, Duber (Dube) was smacking this girl’s a– so hard, like it looked like it hurt so bad.”

The Crown is seeking to introduce some of those texts as evidence due to Howden’s lack of memory on certain details of the events and the statements he has made in the past.

Dube, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.

The trial centres on an encounter that took place in a hotel in downtown London, Ont., where several members of the 2018 national world junior team were staying while in town for a Hockey Canada gala.

CAUTION: The following paragraphs contain graphic content some readers may find disturbing.

Prosecutors allege McLeod, Hart and Dube obtained oral sex from the woman without her consent, and Dube slapped her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else.

Foote is accused of doing the splits over her face and grazing his genitals on it without her consent. Formenton is alleged to have had vaginal sex with the complainant inside the bathroom without her consent.

The woman first encountered several of the players at a downtown bar and ended up leaving with McLeod and having sex in his hotel room, an encounter that is not part of the trial, court has heard.

Afterward, the woman testified, a number of men came into the room. She was naked, drunk and felt she had to go along with what they wanted, performing sexual acts while on “autopilot,” the woman said.

Defence lawyers have suggested the woman participated in and even instigated the sexual activity, repeatedly egging on the players and urging them to have sex with her.

Howden, who now plays in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights, has testified he went to McLeod’s room because he wanted food and was surprised to find a woman there.

The woman started “begging” the players to have sex with her, and two of them — Hart and McLeod — received oral sex, he said. Howden said he saw Formenton head toward the bathroom with the woman but didn’t see them go in.

He also mentioned Dube “spanking” the woman, but said he couldn’t remember if he’d seen it, even after reviewing his texts on the subject.

Part of the test to determine whether the texts are admissible is establishing whether Howden can vouch for their truthfulness, court has heard.

Howden, who is testifying by videoconference, said Thursday he doesn’t remember sending the messages or what he was thinking at the time and therefore can’t guarantee each one is accurate.

But he maintained that he had no reason to lie and believes he was being honest.

Lawyers representing several of the players have opposed the Crown’s application to admit the texts, arguing Howden cannot vouch for their accuracy even if he believes he was sincere.

One of the lawyers for Hart, Riaz Sayani, also argued that because Howden had been drinking that night, it calls into question his ability to accurately describe what happened in the room to his friend.

Prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham countered that everyone in the room was drinking that night and it does not automatically make them unreliable. Being intoxicated doesn’t mean that Howden would have invented a story about seeing Dube slap a woman on the buttocks, she added.

The judge is expected to rule on the admissibility of the texts on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2025.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press