Flyers sign 6-foot-7 goalie prospect Ivan Fedotov to a one-year entry-level deal

Next season, the Flyers could welcome a new face in the crease to back up starting goalie Carter Hart.

General manager Chuck Fletcher announced on Saturday that he signed goalie Ivan Fedotov to a one-year entry-level contract. The 25-year-old Fedotov was the Flyers’ seventh-round pick (188th overall) in the 2015 NHL draft.

At his end-of-season press conference on Tuesday, Fletcher said he expects Fedotov to compete for the backup goalie job in training camp.

“He’s right at that age where he’s put his time in,” Fletcher said. “He’s developed, and he’s ready to go.”

At 6-foot-7, 205 pounds, Fedotov is coming off of an impressive year that saw him lift the KHL’s Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow and earn a silver medal with the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In 22 playoff games with CSKA Moscow, Fedotov posted a .937 save percentage, a 1.85 goals against average and earned 16 wins. During the 2021-22 regular season, his third full season in the KHL, he earned a .919 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average in 26 games (14-10-2 record). He was also named a finalist for the KHL’s best goalie award.

At the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, Fedotov went 4-2 as the starter for ROC, posting a .943 save percentage and a 1.61 goals against average.

Now, Fedotov will make the jump to the North American game after spending parts of seven seasons in the KHL, where he made his first appearance in the 2013-14 season.

“Like every goalie coming over from the bigger ice surface, sometimes there’s a little bit of adjustment with angles,” Fletcher said on Tuesday. “In the NHL, there’s a lot more traffic at the net. A lot more throwing pucks at the net and jamming the net. There’s certainly things that goalies have to adapt to and some do it quicker than others. In terms of ability, we think he’s ready to challenge for an important role.”

In 89 career regular-season KHL games, Fedotov has a .925 save percentage and a 2.15 goals against average.

Per Article 9 of the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player who, at the time he was drafted, was playing for a team outside North America that is now between the ages of 25 and 27 can only sign a one-year entry-level contract. Fedotov will become a a restricted free agent when his contract expires.