Scout’s Analysis: What do the Flyers have in intriguing goalie Ivan Fedotov?

How often does a seventh-round pick arrive in the NHL with such intrigue and anticipation nine years after his draft?

Ivan Fedotov is an outlier in more ways than one.

The 188th overall pick of the 2015 draft (the McDavid-Eichel draft), Fedotov’s NHL career has been a long time coming and, until the Flyers surprisingly announced he’d be joining them Thursday of last week, it was uncertain if he was coming at all.

“It’s been a long time so now I’m here, I’m so excited and happy to be here. It’s a great feeling because it’s been a really difficult two years for me,” Fedotov said. “I am here for what I hope will be a long time together.”

A massive goaltender, officially listed at 6-foot-7 by the Flyers, Fedotov first signed with Philadelphia in May of 2022 and was planning on joining the team for the 2022-23 season on a one-year deal. However, before he left Russia, Fedotov was detained and sent into one year of military service, which forced him to miss a season and limited how much ice time he was able to get at all. After that, Fedotov signed a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow (aka the Red Army), a contract ruled illegal by the IIHF because no release was obtained from the Flyers. Regardless, Fedotov played this past season with CSKA.

Now 27 years old it was quite a shock when word got out last week that CSKA had terminated Fedotov’s contract, leaving a path open for him to head to the NHL. Fedotov’s one-year deal with the Flyers was “tolled” a season, since he didn’t play at all in 2022-23, so now he’s joining them for the final weeks of that contract signed in 2022. He’s also lining up to be an unrestricted free agent again this summer, though Briere noted that he doesn’t expect it to be an issue to get an extension done.

“This year we watched most of his games, almost all of them, what we felt was maybe there was a little rust after not playing much hockey the first year, but he was excellent in the second half of the season and really took over in the playoffs,” Flyers GM Daniel Briere said. “He was very impressive in his playoff series, so that makes it exciting for us to bring him aboard.”

As the Philadelphia Flyers try to track down a playoff spot in a crowded Eastern picture, Fedotov arrives amidst some uncertainty at the position on the team. Samuel Ersson has taken over as the No. 1 job, but has just an .868 save percentage, 3.50 GAA, and four wins in 12 starts in the month of March. On Saturday, Ersson allowed five goals on 24 shots in a 5-1 loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks.

As for the backup situation, Felix Sandstrom had similarly struggled, and after a 4-1 loss to Florida last Sunday where the emergency call-up netminder made only 11 saves on 14 shots, John Tortorella gave a frustrated “non-answer” to a question about his backup’s play, which he later apologized for.

Meantime, as of Sunday morning, the Flyers sit in the second wild-card spot, just two points up on Detroit behind them and with one more game played. The Flyers have the same number of points as Washington, who sit third in the Metropolitan Division, though the Flyers have played two more games than the Capitals. This is the situation Fedotov is dropping into with just seven games left on the schedule.

He’s joined the team for practice, but Ersson has remained in net for the games so far. The Flyers have one more back-to-back on their schedule, this coming Friday in Buffalo and Saturday in Columbus. Their next game is a big one Monday night at home to the rival Islanders. It remains to be seen how much opportunity Fedotov gets at such an important time of season, but surely he’ll see the net at some point.

“You know how it works here,” Briere said. “Torts is in charge of that. (Fedotov) will be available, he’ll be on the ice, he’ll be with the team practising. And then the coaching staff will decide if he plays or not.”

Since he was already under contract with the Flyers, Fedotov will also be eligible for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, if the Flyers get there.

So what exactly do the Flyers have in Ivan Fedotov? Is he the answer? A work in progress? Something in between? For that, we turn to our scout Jason Bukala for a breakdown…

SCOUT’S ANALYSIS

The first thing that stands out about Ivan Fedotov is his size, officially listed at 6-foot-7, 214 pounds by the Flyers.

He posted a 21-22-1 record with a 2.37 GAA and .914 save percentage playing for CSKA Moscow in the KHL this season.

Fedotov plays a typical butterfly/hybrid style and he has above-average athleticism for his stature. His crease quickness and ability to read and react ranges. When he’s square to the play he gives shooters very little to look at by taking up a ton of net. Fedotov has the ability to find pucks in traffic by looking over, and around, opponents stationed near his crease. His rebound control ranges at times, but he generally absorbs pucks from distance. His hands are also average. He generally catches pucks clean, but he doesn’t possess superior blocker/catcher quickness.

A couple of areas of concern include his timing when dropping into the butterfly, and his second stop push ability to scramble for saves. However, the smaller ice in North America should work more favourably for Fedotov since it affords him the luxury of not having to travel as far when he moves from side to side.

Here are some clips that display Fedotov’s positive attributes and potential areas where he could be exposed at the NHL level:

• The first clip displays the advantage Fedotov has over smaller goalies. He literally looks over the traffic assembling in front of his crease, tracks the play moving laterally, and absorbs a shot from distance. He’s in control, square to the shooter, and positioned mid-crease. With his size, he doesn’t have to play at the top of his crease, or outside the blue paint. He sets up mid-crease and takes up enough net in the process:

• This next example describes what I’m seeing when I notice Fedotov start losing his net when he moves laterally and attempts to scramble to make a stop. He loses his net early in the sequence, with his right leg ending up outside the post.

The NHL game moves quick in small areas so he won’t be able to afford sequences like this in North America. Like all NHL goalies, Fedotov will be exposed if he loses his net and has to travel further to make saves.

• All NHL goalies have to read and react on time to excel. In the following clip, Winnipeg Jets prospect Dmitri Rashevsky positions himself just outside Fedotov’s crease. Fedotov takes away his own size advantage when he drops to the butterfly and attempts to make the stop with only his left leg. The result speaks for itself. He needs to front the tip more aggressively.

• Rebound control at the NHL level is crucial. Goalies cannot afford to give opponents second chances off routine shots.

Here’s an example of something I’ve noticed too often from Fedotov while breaking down several of his games.

In this sequence, he fails to control the initial shot from distance and the puck bounds back into a high-danger area before it ends up in the back of his net.

• And finally, I wanted to show an example of Fedotov reading, reacting and making a stop in complete control. It’s a small sequence that displays his ability to play deep in his net and kick away a Grade A scoring chance with sound positioning and quick pads.

CONCLUSION AND NHL PROJECTION

I have to be honest, I’m a bit unsure of what Fedotov will bring to the Flyers at the NHL level.

I love his size in the net because it affords him the luxury of making saves that smaller goalies would have to work harder to make. When his crease composure and rebound control are “on” he’s difficult to beat from range and around his net.

When he gets wandering outside the posts, however, he gives up too many rebounds off low-danger shots from distance, loses his size advantage and lacks great scramble ability.

Time will tell, but I view Fedotov as more of an NHL backup goalie than a pure starter. It will take him some time to adjust to how quickly plays are made around his net in the NHL.

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