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 The 23-year-old Ashton released a statement shortly after the
suspension was announced, blaming the positive test on an inhaler
given to him by another athlete during the offseason after suffering
an asthma attack while training.
"I now recognize that I ingested Clenbuterol, a prohibited
substance, through the inhaler," said Ashton, adding that he used
the inhaler twice. "However, at no time was I seeking to gain an
athletic advantage or to knowingly violate the terms of the program.
"I used the inhaler in response to exercise-induced asthma, a
condition that my doctor with the Toronto Maple Leafs has since
diagnosed and he has prescribed me with an inhaler."
 Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the ban is
accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible
treatment, the league said in a statement.
Ashton, taken in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Tampa
Bay Lightning, has been held pointless in three games this season
and is averaging six minutes of ice time per game.
[to top of second column] |
"The Toronto Maple Leafs support the NHL/NHLPA performance
Enhancing Substances Program and today's decision to suspend forward
Carter Ashton," said Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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