Alex Formenton

Alex Formenton (born September 13, 1999) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) and HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League. He won a gold medal with Canada's junior team at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was selected by the Senators in the second round of the 2017 NHL entry draft. He also won the 2022 Spengler Cup with HC Ambrì-Piotta. Formenton was reported to have moved on from professional hockey in 2025.

Early life

Formenton was born in Barrie, Ontario, on September 13, 1999. Formenton's early years were spent in the York area, and for the 2015–16 season he played for the Aurora Tigers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. In his childhood, Formenton's mother cared for two adult brothers with autism and Down syndrome. Formenton spent time with them while his mother cared for them. While playing for the London Knights, he billeted with a family that included a girl with Down syndrome. He has attributed these experiences to his desire to "seek out some sort of cause or charity that helps people who have Down syndrome or autism".

Playing career

Amateur

Formenton was selected by the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the eleventh round, 216th overall, of the 2015 priority draft. Formenton made his major junior hockey debut with the Knights in the 2016–17 season and recorded 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points in 65 games. Formenton was selected to play in the 2017 CHL Top Prospects Game. The Knights qualified for the 2017 OHL playoffs and advanced to the conference semifinals, losing to the Erie Otters. Formenton went scoreless in 14 playoff games. He returned to London for the 2017–18 season and appeared in 48 games, scoring 29 goals and 48 points. The Knights made the playoffs again, but were knocked out in the first round by the Owen Sound Attack. Formenton tallied five goals and seven points in the four game series.

He returned to London in late November for the 2018–19 season. He recorded 13 goals and 34 points in 31 games. The Knights made the 2019 OHL playoffs and advanced to the conference semifinals only to be eliminated by the Guelph Storm. Formenton added four goals and 18 points in 11 playoff games.

Professional

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) selected Formenton in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2017 NHL entry draft. Formenton was invited to the Senators' main training camp after attending its development camp in mid 2017. At the end of training camp, Ottawa retained him on its NHL roster to open the 2017–18 season and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract. Formenton made his NHL debut on October 7, 2017, becoming the youngest player to play a game for the contemporary Senators franchise. He was a healthy scratch after that game, and on October 15, he was returned by the Senators to continue his development with the London Knights. After the OHL season ended in 2018, Formenton was reassigned to the Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Formenton made two appearances with Belleville.

Formenton earned a spot on the Senators' roster for the 2018–19 season. On October 30, Formenton scored his first career NHL goal against Arizona Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta, the lone Senators goal in a 5–1 loss. He was returned to London in November after appearing in nine games, scoring the one goal. After making the Senators out of training camp for two straight seasons, but failing to stick with the team for the 2019–20 season, Formenton was assigned to Belleville to help round out his game. Before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Formenton scored 27 goals and 53 points in 61 games with Belleville. Formenton was selected to represent Belleville at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. He was named to the AHL's All-Rookie Team alongside teammate Josh Norris. In the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season, Formenton split time between Ottawa and Belleville, recording four goals and six points in 20 games in the NHL and four goals in 13 games in the AHL. Throughout the season, Formenton struggled with the effects of an illness that affected his play.

Formenton played with Ottawa for the 2021–22 season, establishing himself as a solid penalty killer. In November, Formenton contracted COVID-19 and was placed in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. He finished the season with 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games.

HC Ambrì-Piotta

After his contract expired following the 2021–22 season, the Senators and Formenton could not agree to terms on a new contract. Remaining unsigned and later becoming ineligible to appear in the 2022–23 NHL season, Formenton belatedly signed with Swiss club HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League (NL) on December 14, 2022. HC Ambrì-Piotta later issued a statement saying that their contract with Formenton would be re-evaluated at a later date should an investigation of an alleged 2018 sexual assault by members of the Canadian world junior team, of which Formenton was a member, reveal wrongdoing by the player. Senators General Manager Pierre Dorion did not clarify whether Formenton's contract status with the organization was related to the investigation, though some in the media stated that the investigation into Formenton's involvement was the reason for the contract stalemate. Canadian newspaper ''The London Free Press'' noted that it is "ultra-rare" for an NHL team to allow a top prospect like Formenton to be unsigned for an entire season. Heading into the 2023 NHL entry draft it was anticipated that the Senators would trade Formenton's rights to free up a spot on the club's reserve list, but Dorion was unable to find a trading partner.

In the 2022 Spengler Cup tournament, Formenton scored a tournament-high six points in four games, helping propel HC Ambrì-Piotta to a historic Spengler Cup victory. In defeating HC Sparta Prague by a 3–2 score, Ambrì became only the fourth Swiss team to win the cup in its 99-year history. In March 2025, it was revealed that Formenton had begun working in construction in his home town. In the 2022–23 season, Formenton recorded ten goals and 13 points in 22 games. He signed a two-month contract with HC Ambrì-Piotta ahead of the 2023–24 season that ended in December 2023. In 24 games, he added ten goals and 16 points.

International play

Formenton, along with London Knights teammate Robert Thomas, was selected to represent Canada at the 2018 World Junior Championships, where he helped Team Canada win a gold medal. He would later be charged with sexual assault for an incident that occurred at a team event in June 2018.

Legal matters

On January 24, 2024, Ambrì-Piotta announced that it had granted Formenton a leave of absence for personal reasons and that he would return to Canada. On January 28, Formenton surrendered himself to London police as he was charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault in 2018. On February 5, the London Police Service announced that Formenton had been charged with one count of sexual assault. According to August 2024 court documents released the following month, Formenton had "moved on from a hockey career" and was working in construction. The trial began in April 2025. He plead not guilty.

In March 2025, Formenton's legal representation requested that an arbitrator's decision to dismiss claims of negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty by his former agency be set aside. In 2022, at the end of his entry-level contract, he was offered a qualifying offer by the Senators, which he rejected. Formenton claims that he was not made aware by the agency that by rejecting the offer, he was not guaranteed the ability to negotiate a new contract the following season and that if he had accepted the initial qualifying offer, any potential career disruption, like the aforementioned trial, would allow for the extension of that contract. The agency refutes the claims. Formenton is seeking $20 million. The case is scheduled to be heard in January 2026 before the Ontario Supreme Court.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Formenton, Alex
1999 births
Aurora Tigers players
Belleville Senators players
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
HC Ambrì-Piotta players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Living people
London Knights players
Ottawa Senators draft picks
Ottawa Senators players
Sportspeople from King, Ontario
21st-century Canadian sportsmen