An Ontario police officer working a Sunday night desk shift in a small town just across the U.S. border boasted that a lot of future NHL players spent time in Sault Ste. Marie playing junior hockey.
The local pride took a hit during the weekend when Greyhounds teammates Nick Cousins, one of the Philadelphia Flyers' top prospects, Andrew Fritsch, a Phoenix Coyotes prospect, and Mark Petaccio, a Sicklerville, N.J., native, were arrested and charged with sexual assault on an adult woman.
"Never mind these guys, you never want to see anybody go through it," Sault Ste. Marie Police Service sergeant Marty Rowe told the Courier-Post. "Unfortunately, they're in the process now."
According to a police report that was released early Sunday morning, the three players were involved in an alleged incident Friday night at an undisclosed home. The police department stated the woman claimed to know the charged players and made an accusation that each had sexual intercourse with her.
The Courier-Post phoned Petaccio's parents and left a voicemail on Sunday, but did not receive a callback.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren released a one-paragraph statement on Cousins, a high-scoring center who plays with an edge that had been selected in the third round of the 2011 NHL draft:
"We are aware of the unfortunate situation involving Nick Cousins. Due to lack of information available to us, we will not comment at this time."
The accused players, all forwards, turned themselves in after being phoned by police on Saturday. Cousins and Fritsch were released from custody after paperwork was completed, but Petaccio, the lone American, was kept in a holding cell at the station on Saturday and transferred Sunday afternoon to the Algoma Treatment and Remand Center.
Petaccio, 18, is to appear in bail court Monday morning, while Cousins and Fritsch each were given Oct. 1 court dates.
"If there are grounds to release people, we release them, and if there are grounds to hold people, for whatever those reasons are … they're held," officer Rowe said. "Two were released and one was held. I can't speak for the staff sergeant — I wasn't on duty that night — but (Petaccio having U.S. citizenship) would be a big one because, obviously, if he goes back to the States we have no access to bring him back."
Rowe said he was ordered not to pass along further details.
Cousins, who turned 19 last month, participated in the Flyers' week-long prospect camp in July at their practice rink in Voorhees, N.J., and received rave reviews from team personnel. After leading his Ontario Hockey League club with 35 goals and 88 points last season, Cousins was expected to play a fourth season of juniors for Sault Ste. Marie this coming season, although he had recently signed a three-year, $2.53 million entry level contract with the Flyers and was scheduled to attend their training camp.
But now his future at Sault Ste. Marie and with the Flyers could be in jeopardy, pending what develops from his arrest.
The same goes for Petaccio, a 6-3, 188-pound right wing who was preparing for his third season of juniors and has yet to be drafted by an NHL team. He had seven goals and 10 points in 50 OHL games last season, the first 26 with the Oshawa Generals and the last 24 for Sault Ste. Marie.
Fritsch, the third player arrested, is a 19-year-old right winger from Branford, Ontario, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2011 by the Coyotes.
For now, the Sault Ste. Marie hockey club is defending its players, as it posted a statement of support on its official website that read:
"Over the course of time that each of these players has been part of our program we have seen each of them make excellent strides both on and off the ice. The strides made over each young man's tenure here are what makes today's situation so surprising.
"Our Hockey Club will continue to perform our duty in supporting the three members of our team as they go through the legal process. Our Hockey Club will now allow the legal process to run its due course at this time. We will also continue to support the investigation of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services in any way possible."
The last time Sault Ste. Marie was involved in a serious off-ice controversy, coach and director of hockey operations John Vanbiesbrouck— the former standout New York Rangers goaltender — resigned in 2003 after making a racial slur that later had him banned indefinitely by the OHL from working in the league.
Sault Ste. Marie, Wayne Gretzky's home for his one full season of juniors in 1977-78, is an Ontario town with a population of 75,000 that is across the St. Mary's River from its twin city, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
"If you went up the I-75 highway, you would end in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which is separated by a river from Sault Ste. Marie, Canada," officer Rowe said. "You could throw a rock probably halfway across the river. We've had a lot of good hockey guys up here. I don't know what to tell you other than it's bordering on sad. It really is."
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