massive rookie goaltender might be the Flyers’ best chance for redemption.
It is pretty rare for a player to make his season debut in the NHL with just a handful of games left to play. What’s even rarer is a player hitting the ice for the first time nearly a decade after being drafted. But that’s the situation a 6-foot-7 Russian goalie found himself in with the Philadelphia Flyers this week.
In 2015, the Flyers took Ivan Fedotov with the 188th pick in the NHL draft. At that time, the 18-year-old had been playing for different teams in Russia, and he was viewed as a potential long-term project. After helping Russia earn a silver medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Flyers decided to officially sign him and bring him to the City of Brotherly Love. There was only one problem, however: Russia said he couldn’t leave.
Russia accused Fedotov of trying to avoid military service, and he was forced to enlist. He then spent the next year in a naval outpost in the Arctic. While it looked as though he would be able to join the Flyers when his military service was over, Russia interfered again. After he was discharged, the KHL — the top pro league in the country — announced that he had signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow. The International Ice Hockey Federation then ruled him in breach of his Flyers contract.
While the KHL and NHL have not had a formal deal in place for 20 years, the two leagues have had an informal agreement regarding contracts since 2010. But, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the NHL decided it would no longer work with the Russian league.
The prospects for Fedotov ever getting to the NHL seemed bleak. But, after CSKA’s season recently ended, the team abruptly announced it was ending his contract. Fedotov then hopped on a plane and joined his new Flyers teammates at their practice facility in New Jersey. At the subsequent press conference, Fedotov said he was thrilled to finally make it and was eager to start playing.
