The 25-year-old is charged with one count of sexual assault related to an incident in his hotel room at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver on September 26, 2017. He has pleaded not guilty. The name of the complainant, identified as MS, is protected by a publication ban. Under questioning by his attorney Colleen Elden, Virtanen broke down when asked to describe how he first heard about the allegation. “We had just finished playing the Maple Leafs. My agent Kevin Epp said I should talk to [you] right now. So I called him and he said a girl was going to come forward anonymously and say I assaulted her,” Virtanen said. “I was in complete disbelief.” Virtanen maintains that he and MS had consensual sex in his hotel room. Contrary to her testimony, he said MS never pushed him or told him no, but was a willing participant. “Did she give her consent?” Elden asked. “Yes, she was an active and enthusiastic participant. She absolutely felt like she cared,” Virtanen said. Earlier, the defense led Virtanen to recount his path to the NHL, being drafted by the Canucks in 2014 and signing a three-year contract worth $925,000 per year, noting the deal was highly publicized on sports television and social media. Virtanen said he encountered MS in July 2017 at the Cowboys tent at the Calgary Stampede, which he described as popular with NHL players. He said MS and her two friends approached him and his friends and started talking. He said even though they didn’t talk about hockey, he felt MS knew who he was because of the interest she showed in him. MS testified earlier that when she first met Virtanen she didn’t know who he was, what he did or how much money he made.
Contrary to MS’s testimony, Virtanen said he and a friend went with MS and a friend in a taxi to a house that night. He said he was so drunk he threw up and then his friend put him to sleep in the basement. “When I woke up in the morning MS was next to me,” she said. “Do you know how he ended up in bed?” asked Elden? “No,” he answered. MS testified earlier that it was Virtanen who mysteriously appeared in bed where she was sleeping. Virtanen said the two chatted and exchanged numbers. He said that while attending the Stampede in the days following MS she approached him on several occasions, leading him to believe she wanted to meet him.

Sorry for the defense

Earlier in the day, Brock Martland, one of Virtanen’s attorneys, apologized to MS for a question he asked the day before about whether she considered making up a story about her yeast infection or her period to avoid sexual contact with Virtanen. “I wasn’t suggesting you had an obligation to do those things,” Martland said. “This question was off-topic and I apologize.” Martland concluded his cross-examination of MS on Thursday, investigating how Virtanen’s name appeared in the comments section of the Survivors Story Project (SSP) Instagram page after MS posted an account of the alleged attack in April 2021 that did not include him named.
Martland then asked MS about a message she sent to the SSP, expressing concern about the “harsh” things people were saying about Virtanen because of the consequences.
“I didn’t want to see him hurt,” she said. “I wanted him to be punished. I wanted him to be held accountable.” The final line of questioning during cross-examination that took place the morning after the alleged assault, MS asked Virtanen for tickets to the Canucks preseason game on September 28, 2017. He told her he had nothing to share. MS and a friend attended the match after purchasing tickets. “After this incident… why pay money and come down to see him again… at his workplace,” Martland asked. “It was to see a professional hockey game,” said MS. “I’ve always wanted to go to a pro game.” Virtanen will return to the stand on Friday.