2023-07-31 13:09:26
The Philadelphia Flyers and the National Hockey League (NHL) have reportedly asked the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to look into the case of goaltender Ivan Fedotov, so that he can come to North America.
This is what the TSN network said on Sunday evening.
The Russian’s story is worthy of a spy movie. In July 2022, he was arrested in his native country a few weeks after signing a one-year contract with the Flyers.
Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers
He was handcuffed for providing false documents in an attempt to evade compulsory military service. He then spent 12 months in detention in Siberia.
“I counted every day, I kept a calendar. You have no emotions, you just wait. I was hoping it would end sooner or later. Either you get away with swimming with your head held high, or you drown in it,” said Fedotov, whose remarks were reported by the Sports.ru website.
The 26-year-old has just signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, the club of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) with which he played had to go to prison.
It was because of this new contract that the Flyers and the NHL contacted the IIHF. General manager Daniel Brière’s team alleges that Fedotov’s deal must be renewed for the 2023-2024 campaign, because the hockey player was unable to present himself in North America in 2022-2023. CSKA meanwhile claimed that the athlete had no contractual ties, which was later validated by the KHL.
There is no official agreement between the NHL and the KHL, but the two leagues had so far respected the contracts offered by their respective teams.
“I’m going to show up where they think I should play,” Fedotov said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. I just can’t wait to get back to my hockey career.”
Fedotov particularly stood out in 2021-2022. In 26 games with CSKA, he posted a 14-10-2 record, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. He also led his team to a Gagarin Cup triumph, in addition to contributing to the conquest of a silver medal at the 2022 Olympic Games by the Russian Olympic Committee team.
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