Carchidi Column: Flyers Will Be Very Deep in the Nets, If …

With Ivan Fedotov in the fold, goaltending has become the Philadelphia Flyers’ deepest position.

Ah, but is he going to be with the Flyers for next month’s training camp?

Right now, nobody knows.

Not his agent. Not Flyers general manager Danny Briere. Not Keith Jones, the team’s president of hockey operations.

No one.

It shouldn’t be this complicated after an International Ice Hockey Federation ruling Monday, but when you are dealing with Russia, well, things aren’t always in black and white.

Sadly, Fedotov – who should be approaching the prime of his hockey career – is caught in the middle of Russian politics.

Maybe Russia will wish him good luck and tell him to enjoy making a name for himself in the NHL.

Or maybe it will ignore the IIHF’s ruling and insist he stay in Russia’s KHL.

Earlier this week, the IIHF ruled that the ultra-promising Fedotov already had a valid contract with the Philadelphia Flyers for the upcoming season when he signed with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. He belongs to the Flyers for the 2023-24 season, according to the ruling.

Strained Relations

But things are complicated because relations between Russia and North America are strained. The former’s attack on Ukraine is the reason.

Before the IIHF’s decision, Fedotov, 26, said he would abide by whatever ruling it made.

Yet, he is still in Russia.

“I think they still have a chance for an appeal this week,” Briere said on Thursday. “I believe he’s still in camp with his team in Russia, so we can’t really control what they do there or what they decide to do. We’re waiting to see whether they accept the ruling or not.”

Russia should accept the ruling and not use a hockey player as a political football, plain and simple.

Since the ruling favoring the Flyers, Briere has spoken a few times with Fedotov’s agent, J.P. Barry, “and (he) doesn’t seem to know more than we do,” the GM said.

In other words, everybody is in the dark.

Got Ice Time in Navy

If Fedotov does come to the Flyers, he would challenge for the No. 2 spot, behind Carter Hart. Fedotov took a year off from playing hockey in the KHL while fulfilling military duties, but he at least was on the ice twice a week during that time, he said in a recent interview in Russia.

He led Russia to a silver medal in the 2022 Olympics. When back in form, he would give the Flyers an outstanding backup who could earn additional starts by how well he plays.

Depending on how he progresses, Fedotov could also make dealing Hart a stronger possibility at the trade deadline.

But we’re jumping way ahead of ourselves. Right now, Fedotov might not even be in Philly – or with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms – when the season rolls around.

Should Fedotov join the Flyers organization, would Briere want him to initially play for the AHL’s Phantoms to get more starts and get rid of the rust caused by his one-year layoff?

Impressive Pipeline

“He would be given a chance to get in competition with all the goalies,” Briere said, meaning his play would dictate whether he stayed with the Flyers.

The other goalies are Hart, Cal Petersen, Felix Sandstrom, and Sam Ersson. Ersson is extremely talented but wouldn’t have to clear waivers to be sent to the Phantoms. Sandstrom, on the other hand, would have to clear waivers if the Flyers tried to demote him.

“There’s so many balls in the air right now as far as our goalies are concerned,” said Briere, who isn’t sure if the Flyers will carry two or three goalies. “l don’t want to say one way or the other” where Fedotov would land if he came to North America. “We’ll see what they do on the ice and who performs and plays well. We have big hopes for him. Some of the stuff we’ve seen from him in the past, he seems to be an elite goaltender. I don’t want to put myself in a corner before I see him.”

Fedotov’s development since the Flyers drafted him in the seventh round in 2015 – bravo, Ron Hextall – has given them great depth at the game’s most important position. In addition to the aforementioned goaltenders, the Flyers have promising prospect Alexei Kolosov playing in the KHL, and they drafted highly regarded goalies Carson Bjarnason and Egor Zavragin in the second- and third rounds, respectively, in June.

“We feel goaltending is a strong position for us,” Briere said. “Things can change quick in the NHL. We’ve seen it in the past. The Flyers have had bad luck with goaltending. We want to build a good stable of goaltenders. That’s why we looked at the draft and reinforced it and prepared for the future as well. It’s exciting.”

It will be even more exciting if a certain 6-foot-7 Russian goaltender is part of that future.

Sam Carchidi writes a weekly column for Philly Hockey Now. He and Jeff Hare are working on a TV series on the Flyers’ glory days, tentatively called Bullies: A Love Story. Carchidi can be reached at samcarchidi55@gmail.com.