Overseas, the KHL regular season has finally begun, and while the Philadelphia Flyers will be monitoring the progress of Egor Zavragin, they’ll be seeing what an old friend is up to as well.
In addition to Zavragin, who will be playing for his third KHL team in his young career this year, the Flyers have recent NHL burnout Kevin Hayes representing them in the KHL ranks after going un-signed through the offseason.
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Quietly, former Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov, drafted by the franchise way back in 2015, has returned home to Russia, too, signing a two-year deal with Spartak Moskva, joining forces with former Flyers draft bust German Rubtsov, following a two-year jaunt in North America.
Fedotov, 29, was wholly unimpressive and inconsistent during his time in the NHL with the Flyers, amassing a 6-14-5 record to the tune of a 3.29 GAA and .874 save percentage.
Fedotov did improve in his first full season with the Flyers in 2024-25, at times looking dominant, but would often swing too far to the other side of the spectrum and concede several weak goals.
That culminated in the Flyers trading the 6-foot-8 netminder to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who had him spend the entire year in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters. There, Fedotov went 23-16-9 in 47 games, recording a 2.89 GAA, .887 save percentage, and two shutouts.
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It’s clear that Fedotov never fully acclimated to and comfortable with the style of play here, but back home in Russia, the former Flyers goalie’s dominance is unquestioned.
A former Olympic Silver Medalist, KHL Goalie of the Year, KHL All-Star, and Gagarin Cup champion, Fedotov accomplished quite a bit in his four full seasons as a regular in Russia.
Now back home, he’s picking up where he left off.
Through his first two games of the KHL season, Fedotov is only 1-1-0, but that isn’t for a lack of effort on his part.
In Spartak’s opening match against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Fedotov rebuffed 18 of 19 shots (.947%) in a low-octane 1-0 loss.
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Then, Fedotov followed that effort up with a 29-save effort in a 3-2 win (.935%) over former Flyers teammate Egor Zamula, top 2027 NHL Draft prospect Nazar Privalov, and CSKA Moscow.
Former NHLers Christian Jaros and Max Comtois, as well as Ilya Kotlyarov, scored for Fedotov’s side, while Zamula picked up an assist at the other end.
So far, Fedotov has stopped 37 of 40 shots for his new team, jumping out to a hot 1.51 GAA and .940 save percentage.
