What do the Flyers and Russia have in common? To the naked eye, not much. But to the hockey-trained eye, there is much more to unravel. The Flyers, of course, sent the Soviets packing their bags, nearly forfeiting the game in Philly after beating several other NHL teams, until Ed Snider told them they wouldn’t get paid if they didn’t finish the game. The Flyers would beat them about four years before the US Olympic Ice Hockey Team would beat the Soviets in the famed “Miracle on Ice.” Now, the Flyers face another battle against Russia, and it’s for their players.
The past 18-ish months have been filled with a lot happening with the Flyers and their Russian players. The Flyers first sent Russian first-rounder German Rubtsov to the Florida Panthers in the Claude Giroux trade. Then they tried to sign Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov (which we’ll discuss in-depth later on in this piece), traded away notable Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov to Columbus in a massive trade, drafted Russian superstar Matvei Michkov, and have now signed Belarusian goalie Alexei Kolosov (he plays in the KHL for Dinamo Minsk so kinda Russia related). The two goalies and Michkov are the main focus of this article.
Alexei Kolosov
Gonna start out with the one name that is getting the least amount of attention, Alexei Kolosov. A top-ranked goalie prospect that the Flyers picked in the third round, 78th overall, in 2021, Kolosov is currently 21 and was signed to a three-year, 925k entry-level contract. He will have a year burned off this upcoming season as he will play for his hometown team, Dynamo Minsk, in the KHL before coming over. This will, hopefully, be an easy transition as Kolosov isn’t a Russian citizen, and it seems like Dynamo Minsk is ok with this decision. Spending a year in the KHL will be helpful, as the Flyers have an overabundance of goalies in their system, that isn’t fully figured out, but will probably be thinner when Kolosov comes over next year. Where he begins next season is unknown due to so many factors. It should be noted that Belarus is strongly connected to Russia, siding with them in the war with Ukraine. We shall see how this plays out in about a year.
Ivan Fedotov
This is a big boy, both in terms of the player and the situation. The 6’7, 26-year-old Russian goalie was drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round, 188th overall, in 2015. Now, things get complicated. On May 7, 2022, Ivan Fedotov signed a one-year, 925k contract with the Flyers. Less than two months later, on July 1, 2022, Fedotov was arrested by the Russian military for allegedly evading military service. The whole saga during that day involved him being taken after leaving an ice rink, getting sick (supposedly from the military poisoning him), and being sent to the Arctic to serve in the Navy for a year. On July 2, 2023, Ivan Fedotov’s military service was completed and the Flyers tolled his contract to this upcoming year.
CSKA Moscow, Fedotov’s KHL team, tried to sign him to a contract shortly after his military service was completed, and more confusion happened. At first, during the morning of July 3, there were reports that the KHL would not register Fedotov’s contract until they knew the status of Fedotov’s NHL contract with the Flyers. Bill Daly later made a statement saying Fedotov’s contract with the Flyers was valid for this upcoming season. Then reports came out saying that the KHL was going to move forward with Fedotov’s contract with CSKA due to them believing his contract with the Flyers was not valid. This was the first time that any NHL or KHL team had broken the memorandum of understanding (MOU), even though it was canceled last year by the NHL.
It all seemed like the Fedotov situation was over on July 8 when CSKA announced they signed Fedotov to a two-year contract. As of starting this article on July 10, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) put out a statement regarding Ivan Fedotov. The general gist of the statement was that the RIHF is looking into the Fedotov situation and will be looking at Fedotov’s contract with the Flyers from official NHL documents and will be bringing in the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) for a consultation about Fedotov’s ability to play in the KHL this upcoming season. They also added that the “RIHF insists on the KHL’s strict adherence to the IIHF’s international transfer rules”. They added that due to Russia not wanting more punishment from the IIHF and the negative impact of breaking an IIHF rule while being banned from international play due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Pending the IIHF’s ruling, Ivan Fedotov could join the Flyers this year, but with how crowded the crease is already, and the headache this has been, there’s a chance that the Flyers allow him to just stay in Russia and play if that’s Fedotov’s wish.
Matvei Michkov
The big fish when it comes to Russian players in the Flyers’ system. Drafted seventh overall this summer, Michkov is the cornerstone player the Flyers have been searching for. Michkov provides potential for talent that Flyers fans haven’t seen since Eric Lindros. There is nothing more important than getting Michkov over to Philly by the 2026-27 season. As much as this may suck, the Fedotov situation could impact Michkov’s situation, but there’s a good chance it doesn’t. Michkov is signed to contract with SKA St. Petersburg, not to be confused with Ivan Fedotov’s CSKA Moscow. SKA, unlike CSKA, is privately owned, which is better for the Flyers because that could be why there isn’t an Ivan Fedotov situation 2.0. Michkov has expressed his desire to play in Philadelphia and to be here as soon as possible. There could be a buyout on SKA’s side, which we just saw Avangard Omsk do to Ivan Miroshnichenko so he could sign with the Capitals. I doubt that will happen with Michkov but a tweet containing a screenshot from an Athletic article from 2021 provides hope that maybe Michkov could be over as soon as next year if he, and presumably the front office of SKA, believe he can make the top-six on the Flyers, which shouldn’t be very hard at all. They believe that a player shouldn’t go over to the NHL from the KHL until he is able to make contributions where he should be in the lineup. It makes sense, why send away one of your top players if he’s just going to play in an inferior league like the AHL, or not be put in the best situation to succeed.
Right now, it’s Danny Briere v Russia, and hopefully, Danny comes out of this with some riches, especially Michkov. While Michkov is playing in the KHL, Danny needs to keep an open and honest line between him and St. Petersburg and make sure he can get Michkov over here without having to go to the lengths that the Buffalo Sabres did to get Mogilny to America. With good signs that Kolosov will come over and that SKA is more likely to let Michkov come over when he has a spot in the top six, all of us Flyers fans need to do is just wait, which I know is hard, but it’ll all be worth it when Michkov scores his first NHL goal and the Wells Fargo Center and starts his journey to becoming one of the best Russians to ever play in the NHL.
By: Noah Caplan (@Phlyers24)
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