Calgary man accused of connections to alleged drug lord, ex-Olympian
Posted Nov 20, 2025 7:18 pm.
Last Updated Nov 21, 2025 9:14 am.
A former junior hockey player from Calgary is at the centre of an international drug-trafficking case, facing extradition to the United States on charges that include conspiracy to export cocaine and murder.
Allistairr Chapman, 33, once skated for the Calgary Royals and Drayton Valley Thunder in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Now, U.S. officials allege he has ties to Mexican drug cartels and connections to one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives.
Chapman’s early years followed a familiar path for many young Canadian athletes. He trained with the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan, played 27 games with the Calgary Flames Midget AAA team, and was drafted 96th overall by the Swift Current Broncos. His AJHL career included 10 games with the Royals before a trade to Drayton Valley, but his hockey ambitions stalled before reaching the professional level.
His alleged link to Ryan Wedding, a Canadian snowboarder who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics and is now accused of running a sprawling drug empire, remains unclear.
Chapman was arrested in 2016 in connection with a drug bust, accused of leading a trafficking ring. Those charges were later stayed due to delays in prosecution.
In 2025, however, Chapman faces far more serious allegations. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged him with conspiracy to export cocaine and murder tied to a continuing criminal enterprise. He is scheduled for extradition sentencing this Friday.
Seven Canadians, including Chapman, have been arrested in connection with Wedding’s alleged network. Wedding, 44, is accused of overseeing operations across the Americas, using intimidation and violence to protect his enterprise.
U.S. officials allege Wedding ordered the killing of a witness in a federal narcotics case. That witness was shot dead in a Medellín restaurant in January 2025.
Wedding, already on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, is considered one of the world’s most dangerous fugitives. Authorities say he is responsible for dozens of murders abroad and enriched himself through laundered drug proceeds.
