Ivan Fedotov, a Russian ice hockey goalie playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, was detained by the Russian government on July 1, 2022 for not completing his required one year of military service.
Chuck Fletcher, the Flyers’ President of Hockey Operations, comments that the Flyers are “aware of the reports and are investigating the situation”, but that they “have no further comment at this time”.
Fedotov was allegedly arrested outside of a hockey rink and brought to an army enlistment office. He later became sick with gastritis, and had to be taken to a hospital. The government suspected Fedotov to have evaded military service, which is punishable by high fines and up to two years in prison.
However, his lawyer, Alexey Ponomarev, disagrees. He reports that the military police remained cryptic about the details. Fedotov was treated differently from the other hospital patients, and neither Ponomarev nor his parents were allowed to visit him.
In the past, Russian goalies like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, and Sergei Bobrovsky have had a good reputation, and people are waiting to see who the next great one will be.
After many notable accomplishments, including helping the Russian Olympic Committee earn a silver medal in the Beijing Winter Games, and bringing CSKA Moscow, a hockey team with deep connections to the Soviet Army, to victory with their second Gagarin Cup of the team’s entire history, Fedotov seems like a good contender. However, this incident is starting to raise concerns about their future.
Fedotov has also improved significantly since he first joined the Flyers. He is recognized as the best goalie in the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League), with 2.00 goals against average (goals against average is a statistic used by the KHL equal to the average number of goals a goalie fails to defend per hour). “Ivan is a player we have followed closely and are very pleased with his development,” Fletcher says.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656877321237x683539068075620600/Russia%20Detains%20Olympic%20Goalie%2C%20Who%20Had%20Signed%20With%20the%20Philadelphia%20Flyers%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/04/sport/ivan-fedotov-detained-evading-military-service-spt-intl/index.html
Chuck Fletcher, the Flyers’ President of Hockey Operations, comments that the Flyers are “aware of the reports and are investigating the situation”, but that they “have no further comment at this time”.
Fedotov was allegedly arrested outside of a hockey rink and brought to an army enlistment office. He later became sick with gastritis, and had to be taken to a hospital. The government suspected Fedotov to have evaded military service, which is punishable by high fines and up to two years in prison.
However, his lawyer, Alexey Ponomarev, disagrees. He reports that the military police remained cryptic about the details. Fedotov was treated differently from the other hospital patients, and neither Ponomarev nor his parents were allowed to visit him.
In the past, Russian goalies like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, and Sergei Bobrovsky have had a good reputation, and people are waiting to see who the next great one will be.
After many notable accomplishments, including helping the Russian Olympic Committee earn a silver medal in the Beijing Winter Games, and bringing CSKA Moscow, a hockey team with deep connections to the Soviet Army, to victory with their second Gagarin Cup of the team’s entire history, Fedotov seems like a good contender. However, this incident is starting to raise concerns about their future.
Fedotov has also improved significantly since he first joined the Flyers. He is recognized as the best goalie in the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League), with 2.00 goals against average (goals against average is a statistic used by the KHL equal to the average number of goals a goalie fails to defend per hour). “Ivan is a player we have followed closely and are very pleased with his development,” Fletcher says.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656877321237x683539068075620600/Russia%20Detains%20Olympic%20Goalie%2C%20Who%20Had%20Signed%20With%20the%20Philadelphia%20Flyers%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/04/sport/ivan-fedotov-detained-evading-military-service-spt-intl/index.html
