A giant rookie goalie could be the savior the Flyers need

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 188^th 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.

“It's been a long time [since being drafted], but now I'm here,” he said. “I'm so excited and so happy to be here. It's a great feeling because it's been a difficult two years, but I want to help the team [make] the playoffs and be one of the best teams in the playoffs.”

This isn’t just a feel-good story; the Flyers may have to rely on Fedotov to not only reach the postseason, but to have success there. So far, he seems up for the challenge. Three days after that press conference, Fedotov was put into his first game to relieve struggling starting goalie Samuel Ersson. While the Flyers ended up losing 4-3 to the Islanders in overtime, Fedotov impressed, making 19 saves on 21 shots.

Talking to reporters afterward, Fedotov again said how excited he was to be with Philadelphia, and that he’d use the game as a building block to become more comfortable and self-confident going forward.