Nine years after he was drafted by Philadelphia, goalie Ivan Fedotov has finally joined the Flyers.
Fedotov, whose NHL career was delayed following a forced stint in Russian military service, had his contract in Russia’s KHL terminated Thursday by CSKA Moscow. The Flyers drafted Fedotov in the seventh round in 2015 and signed a deal in May 2022.
When Fedotov attempted to come to North America in July 2022, he was taken by authorities to a remote military base in the Arctic Circle for a year of service.
After completing that service, Fedotov signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, and played for them this past season. Because Fedotov already had an NHL contract with the Flyers, the International Ice Hockey Federation last summer ruled in their favor and sanctioned him and CSKA.
Fedotov was the starter for the Russians at the 2022 Beijing Olympics when they reached the final and lost to Finland.