Ivan Fedotov, a Russian Hockey Goalie, recently signed with the Flyers, a hockey team in Philadelphia. Ivan has been in the Olympics, participating in the recent Winter Olympics in Beijing and even earning a silver medal for the team. He’s been a strong player in the KHL (Russia’s premier hockey league), thought by some to be the next best Russian goalie, and was expected to try out for the roster this fall.

It is not uncommon for Russian players to have been drafted, Russian goalies often have emerged in the NHL as some of their best players. In Russia, there is a law that requires all young Russian men to complete one year of military service. On May 7th, he was detained during practice on the charges of “trying to evade military service” as he had been planning to go to the US for the roster tryouts. He was taken to an army enlistment office and now can’t be in the fall tryouts. A spokesman for the NHL said he was aware of the situation but had no further comments. Chuck Fletcher, the The President of the Flyers, had been watching Ivan for a while and made the decision to draft him after he recently got a silver medal in the Winter Olympic Games. Unfortunately, they will have to wait another year to draft this player. He has expressed his disappointment on the situation but remains hopeful for the next year.