Buffalo Sabres Ryan O’Reilly Trial Date Set

After seven adjournments, a trial date has finally been set for Buffalo Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly.

O’Reilly’s lawyer appeared in court on his behalf on Christmas Eve, which is when a trial date was set.

The trial will begin on July 11 – well after the NHL season has ended, and over a year after the incident in London, Ontario occurred. Per CTV London, it’s expected to last two days.

While it appeared for a while that the case was almost frozen, now we finally have a trial date. And after so many adjournments, it should come as no surprise that the date comes after the NHL season – and any potential playoffs – will be over.

Ryan O’Reilly still needs to face the courts for his July 9th incident near London, Ontario – an event that could result in jail time or a fine, a suspended license, or a suspension from the NHL, which seems unlikely at this point since it hasn’t already been handed out.

For those who need a little refresher on the course of action re: how things have gone in his case to date, here’s a quick one:

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• July 9 (~4:05 am): O’Reilly was arrested and charged after his pickup truck reportedly crashed into a Tim Hortons in Lucan, Ontario, about 30 minutes from the city of London. O’Reilly reportedly kept driving, before leaving the vehicle on foot with his unnamed male passenger. The pair were eventually located less than a mile from the truck, and O’Reilly was served with an appearance ticket to show up in court in London on August 20. O’Reilly blood-alcohol content at the time was over 80 mg, or 0.08 – a low level, but still enough to be considered legally intoxicated.
• August 20: Scheduled court date #1; O’Reilly’s attorney appeared on his behalf. Adjourned.
• September 10: Scheduled court date #2. Adjourned.
• September 17: Buffalo Sabres report to training camp. Preseason begins four days later.
• October 1: Scheduled court date #3. Adjourned.
• October 22: Scheduled court date #4. Adjourned.
• November 5: Scheduled court date #5. Adjourned.
• November 22: Scheduled court date #6. Adjourned.
• December 14: Scheduled court date #7. Adjourned.
• December 24: O’Reilly’s lawyer appears on his behalf; trial date set for July 11, 2016.

Through 36 games this season, Ryan O’Reilly leads the Buffalo Sabres with team-highs in goals (14), assists (18) and points (32). Thirteen of his 32 points have come on the power-play, and he’s also got a pair ofgame-winners this season.

O’Reilly is averaging 21:52 ice time per game and has a faceoff-win percentage of 58.6%.

So at least for the time being, Buffalo Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly is in the clear. No more adjournments, no more court dates until that trial in July.

Potential penalties for the summertime incident include up to six months in jail, fines between $400 and $2,000, seven demerit points on his license and a suspended license for up to two years.

Such a license suspension would be valid in both Canada and the United States, which would make O’Reilly unable to drive himself to practices, games, etc. once the season started back up for the Buffalo Sabres.

Next: O'Reilly Showing What He's Worth

If nothing else, this is a good next step in the legal process. Instead of constantly having to question, “well, what’s next? Another adjournment?,” now we know.