<p>Ottawa Senators defenceman Victor Mete, who played for Team Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, issued a statement on Thursday denying his involvement in an alleged sexual assault after a Hockey Canada event in June 2018.</p>



<p>Mete, 24, said he was on vacation in Jamaica at that time and pledged to “co-operate in any way” in an investigation. The victim of the alleged assault filed a lawsuit in April, which was settled a few weeks later; in recent weeks, Hockey Canada has lost most of its prominent sponsors and had its federal funding <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/federal-government-freezes-hockey-canadas-funding/">frozen</a>.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is my statement regarding the ongoing Hockey Canada investigation: <a href="https://t.co/bE3WnuxyLU">pic.twitter.com/bE3WnuxyLU</a></p>— vmete98 (@vmete98) <a href="https://twitter.com/vmete98/status/1542529631978405888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2022</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>“I believe it is important for me to state that I was not present at the gala event celebration when this appalling event occurred,” Mete said Thursday. “At the time, I was away on vacation with family and friends in Jamaica and only learned of the situation recently through media reports.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



<p>“I am deeply troubled by reports of this incident and should my help be requested by those investigating this matter, I will fully co-operate in any way I can.”</p>



<p>In the lawsuit, the unidentified woman alleged eight players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior team assaulted her at a Hockey Canada event in London, Ontario. The eight players have also not been identified.</p>



<p>Mete played the 2017–18 National Hockey League season with the Montreal Canadiens and was released in December to participate in the World Junior Championship with Team Canada.</p>



<p>He started the next three seasons with the Canadiens before joining the Senators off waivers in 2021.</p>
