Ivan Fedotov debuted for the Philadelphia Flyers over a week ago, but his journey to the NHL is unlike any we have ever seen.
Drafted in the seventh round in 2015, Ivan Fedotov was a flyer pick late in the draft, with his most intriguing feature being his size at 6’8”. After being drafted, Fedotov played a season in the MHL – the KHL’s affiliated minor league – where he dominated with a record of 18-5-4, a 2.22 GAA and a .910 SV%.
The following two seasons, he was the backup goalie for Ufa Salavat Yukayev in the KHL and played only four games in the two years. In the 2019 offseason, Fedotov joined Chelyabinsk Traktor as their starting goalie. He finished top 10 in SV% two years in a row and the Flyers started to notice that their late-round pick was making waves overseas.
Following two seasons with Traktor, he joined the KHL powerhouse, CSKA Moscow, for the 2021-22 season. He won KHL goalie of the year and led Moskow to the KHL finals, where they beat Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4-3. He also won an Olympic silver medal with the Russian team in Beijing.
In May 2022, Fedotov signed a one-year, $925,000 contract with the Flyers. However, just a few months earlier, on February 24th, 2022, Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale land, sea and air invasion of Ukraine. This led to sanctions on Russian men between the ages of 18 to 30 (instead of 18 and 27), who were forced to do one year of military service.
So, when Fedotov tried to leave Russia for the United States to join the Philadelphia Flyers organization, he was arrested on suspicion of evading Russian military service. He was forcefully sent to a naval base in Siberia to begin his military service and was under investigation for trying to avoid the mandatory service, which in Russia is a two-year prison sentence.
It was decided that Fedotov would not be sentenced to prison. When he finished his military training in July 2023, he signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow despite being obligated to play for the Flyers. It is speculated that this was part of Fedotov’s punishment as CSKA Moscow has ties to the Russian army.
Fedotov played the 2023-24 season in the KHL, and once the season came to an end, CSKA terminated Fedotov’s contract, allowing him to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Fedotov made his debut for the Flyers on April 1st against the New York Islanders after starting goaltender Samuel Ersson was pulled after allowing two goals on four shots. Fedotov had an impressive debut, stopping 19 of 21 shots, including a breakaway against the Islanders’ Matthew Barzal.
Despite losing 4-3 in overtime, head coach John Tortorella had high praises for the goaltender, saying he was “totally impressed” and that “I put him in a hell of a spot, and he’s the only goddamn player that played in the second period.”
Fedotov has all the tools to be a star in the NHL for years to come, and General Manager Danny Briere sees that as they have already started negotiation on a contract extension.
Hopefully, Fedotov has found a new home in Philadelphia and can grow into the star goalie that he has the potential to be.
