This news shouldn’t come as a full surprise as the likelihood of Ivan Fedotov crossing the pond and suiting up for the Philadelphia Flyers or Lehigh Valley Phantoms was always going to be low. The 6’8” goaltender will be reportedly signing a 2-year deal to remain with CSKA Moscow of the KHL after a tumultuous 2022-23.
Fedotov originally signed his one-year ELC on the 7th of May, 2022, after a fantastic season that saw him win the Gagarin Cup – the KHL championship – and he led his nation to a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Then on the 1st of July, it was being reported that the goaltender had been detained for trying to evade his military enlistment.
On this date last year, information started to leak out that Fedotov was confronted by Russian officials outside of his training facility and was essentially thrown into a white van and sent off for trying to evade the draft. After spending the night in the hospital and essentially going off the grid for the day, it was announced the following day that Fedotov would be stationed in the Arctic for his year of service.
There were constant rumours and reports that the Russians had chosen Fedotov because he decided to leave the KHL and CSKA Moscow, which is essentially the military team. The owner of the team is a close friend of Vladimir Putin’s as well, as Slava Malamud took to Twitter about the abhorrent decisions taking place.
Things went quiet on the Fedotov front until Russ Cohen tweeted out on the 7th of September that Fedotov had signed a 3-year deal with CSKA Moscow, a report that had been refuted by their President, Igor Esmantovich. Fast forward to the 7th of May – a year to the date he signed his ELC initially – and it was being reported that with his military service almost complete, CSKA Moscow was under the impression that Fedotov would remain in Russia and play for them; “Don’t worry, we’re ready to take him back,” said Esmantovich.
So here we are now, a year to the date of his arrest, it is being reported that he will sign a 2-year deal with CSKA Moscow after all. Under the rules of the CBA, Fedotov will remain under contract with the Flyers for the 2023-24 season on his previously signed ELC. It’s unfortunate because he most likely has zero choice in the matter, considering what had happened to him in the first place when he decided to try and leave for the NHL.
His statistics from 2021-2022 were sublime and had the entire fan base in awe. The hulking netminder looked to be the real deal and would be following in the footsteps of many successful KHL goalies like Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Ilya Sorokin.
The then-25-year-old went 14-10-2 with a 2.00 GAA and a .919 SV% alongside 2 shutouts. In the playoffs, Fedotov went 16-6 with 1 shutout, a 1.85 GAA, and a .937 SV%. On the international scene, the Russian went 4-2 in 6 games while a 1.61 GAA and a .943 SV%, claiming the silver medal after being defeated by Finland in the Olympics.
The Flyers will seemingly roll with Carter Hart, Cal Petersen, Samuel Ersson, and Felix Sandström heading into training camp. Hart is the obvious starting goaltender even with all the trade rumours that have come and gone, while Ersson seemed locked in as the backup after his 2022-23 season. Sandström had a tough year but battled through and Petersen – while a veteran – could be seen as a wild card for the backup role but has been a lot better suited as an AHL netminder over his career.
Ivan Fedotov’s future seems to be in Russia’s hands as the former 7th round pick from the 2015 NHL Entry Draft will be 28 years old by the end of his new reported contract.
Will he be available to the Flyers 2 years from now? Will they allow him to finally leave? The Flyers will be knee-deep in their rebuild with eyes towards 2026, so it could fit perfectly.
However, only time will tell if Fedotov ever becomes an NHLer or if he will forever remain a KHL phenom.
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