Flyers prospect Ivan Fedotov makes first public comments about his military service and future

Everyone must pay his debt to the motherland, and goalie Ivan Fedotov is no exception, he said in a press conference Monday held by his KHL team, CSKA Moscow.

“All citizens liable for military service in the country must repay their debt to their homeland,” the 26-year-old Fedotov said, according to a translation of Russian station Match TV’s transcript. “You can argue for a long time, but the law is the law. It must be observed. Everyone, in one way or another, repays the debt to the motherland.”

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Fedotov, a seventh-round pick of the Flyers in 2015, was arrested in St. Petersburg, Russia, last July for alleged evasion of military service. He allegedly had purchased a fake military ID years earlier to evade having to complete one year of service — a requirement for all males age 18-27 in Russia. The timing coincided with when he was planning to leave CSKA and head to North America to play for the Flyers.

At Monday’s press conference, Fedotov, who took questions alongside CSKA coach and Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov, refused to comment on speculation about whether CSKA played a part in his arrest.

“I personally, as a person who served, cannot comment on speculation and conversations,” Fedotov said. “It doesn’t matter who had a hand, who didn’t. We move on. Time has passed, we will return and take certain steps.”

After being arrested, spending time in the hospital, and then being charged, Fedotov was sent to a remote military base in northern Russia to serve out his year. He said he tried to stay in good shape, working out in his free time. He added that the Russian military, especially the navy, loves hockey.

Rather than look ahead, Fedotov took things one day at a time as he waited to get back to playing professional hockey.

“Counts day by day,” Fedotov said. “Crossing out the days on the calendar. No emotion. You wait and hope that sooner or later it will end. You will either get out or drown.”

As Fedotov’s service neared its end, the Flyers announced on June 14 that the one-year contract Fedotov signed in 2022 would be applied to the 2023-24 season and that they still held his NHL rights. However, the KHL announced July 8 that it was recognizing the legitimacy of Fedotov’s new contract with CSKA because it determined that Fedotov “does not have a valid and binding contract with an NHL club for the 2023-2024 season.”

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The Flyers have yet to comment publicly regarding Fedotov’s status since the KHL registered his contract earlier this month.

Fedotov said that he wanted to go back to CSKA because he had been mostly out of hockey for a year and wanted to get back into top shape. He did say he was able to play twice a week during his service.

“As you know, the level of hockey in the army is not very good,” he said. “The decision was made to return to the form in which I was as soon as possible. As you know, CSKA owns my rights, it is a top club with great ambitions, so there is no other choice. The decision was made in order to start winning and feel the taste of life.”

According to Fedotov, he has contacted the Flyers only once since he was demobilized. He said his situation has not altered his dream of one day playing in the NHL.

Fedorov said that CSKA’s goal will be to get the goaltender back to his highest level as soon as possible.

“As the head coach of CSKA, I am glad that Ivan has joined and will play for our team,” Fedorov said. “He spent the year actively, but not quite professionally; he rarely managed to play at the highest level. Our task is to bring him back to that course of understanding. Muscle memory will quickly remember everything. Of course, it will not go without bumps. But in my understanding, in December we should see the Fedotov we are used to seeing.”

Fedotov’s contract with CSKA is for the 2023-24 season as well as the 2024-25 campaign.

In the season before his military service, Fedotov helped CSKA win the KHL’s championship, the Gagarin Cup. He posted a 14-10-2 record and a .919 save percentage in the regular season, and then a .937 save percentage over 22 games in the playoffs. Fedotov also carried the Russian Olympic Committee to a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

After signing his NHL entry-level deal last May, Fedotov was expected to come to Philadelphia to compete for the backup goalie job to Carter Hart last season. Behind Hart, the Flyers currently have veteran Cal Petersen, Swedish prospects Felix Sandström and Sam Ersson, and highly touted KHL-based netminder Alexei Kolosov. They also selected goaltenders with two of their top four picks in June’s draft, taking Carson Bjarnason in the second round and Russian Egor Zavragin in Round 3.

Fedotov, who turns 27 in November, would be nearly 29 years old if he plays out the two seasons remaining on his contract in Moscow.

On Monday, the Flyers loaned Kolosov back to Dinamo Minsk for the 2023-24 season. The 21-year-old goaltender, who has been a KHL starter for the past two seasons, signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Flyers on July 8. Last season for Dinamo Minsk, Kolosov posted a .912 save percentage in 42 games. He is expected to come over to North America after one more season.