A 6'7" ice hockey goalie from Russia played his first game on NHL ice Monday night, nine years after he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers drafted Ivan Fedotov in 2015, with low expectations. But they signed him in May 2022 after a breakout season and an Olympic silver medal. When Fedotov tried to leave Russia, he was detained on allegations of avoiding his duty to serve in the Russian military and forced to enlist. He served a year at a remote naval outpost in the Arctic, where his contact with the West and his ice time were both severely limited.
