The Flyers hope it'll be worth the wait with one of their top goalie prospects.
After steady and impressive development stemming back to 2015, Ivan Fedotov signed his one-year entry-level contract Saturday with the Flyers.
The 25-year-old Russian has intriguing ingredients and an accomplished résumé.
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The 6-foot-7, 205-pounder was named a finalist for the 2021-22 KHL's Best Goalie Award after going 14-10-2 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .919 save percentage during the regular season with CSKA Moscow. He was even better in the playoffs, leading CSKA Moscow to a championship with 16 wins, a 1.85 goals-against average and .937 save percentage through 22 games.
The 2015 seventh-round draft pick represented Russia at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and won a silver medal as he went 4-2-0 with a 1.61 goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
General manager Chuck Fletcher said the Flyers believe Fedotov "can compete for the No. 2 job" in 2022-23.
NHL
"He’s coming off a remarkable playoff run and good Olympics," Fletcher said Tuesday at his end-of-the-season press conference. "He's right in that age where he’s put his time in, he’s developed and he’s ready to go.
"Like every goalie coming over from the bigger ice surface, sometimes there's a little bit of an adjustment with angles. In the NHL, there’s a lot more traffic at the net, a lot more throwing pucks at the net and jamming the net. There’s certain things that goalies have to adapt to and some do it quicker than others.
"But in terms of ability, we think he’s ready to challenge for an important role."
Next year, the club's 23-year-old No. 1 netminder Carter Hart will be entering his fourth full season and fifth overall. Martin Jones, the Flyers' backup this season, is a pending unrestricted free agent. Prospect Felix Sandstrom is on an expiring contract, as well.
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