"The players, who will be tried together as a group, were granted their request during a court appearance Tuesday in London, Ont. It will likely be several more months before a trial date is scheduled.
"Earlier this week, all five players selected a trial by jury and they are confident that jurors drawn from the community will decide this case fairly and impartially after hearing all the evidence and testimony," lawyers representing the accused players said in a joint statement.
Last month, London police charged Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton with *********. All five are current or former NHL players. Each has denied the accusations and promised to vigorously defend themselves in court."