The agent, JP Barry, spoke to The Associated Press amid speculation about Fedotov’s well-being. The situation has raised new concerns about whether Russian players will be willing or able to join National Hockey League teams that will draft them this week as the war in Ukraine continues. The 25-year-old Fedotov is considered one of the top goaltenders in the world outside of the NHL, and the Flyers expected him to compete for a spot on their roster next season. He won the silver medal as the Russians’ starting goaltender at the Beijing Olympics in February and led CSKA Moscow to the Gagarin Cup as KHL champions. He was the Flyers’ seventh-round pick in 2015, but has since been playing in Russia, with CSKA retaining his rights. The NHL and KHL do not have a transfer agreement for players, and Fedotov was eligible to sign with Philadelphia in May only because he did not have an existing contract in Russia for next season. CSKA, whose name translates to “Central Army Sports Club”, was founded as the Soviet Army’s hockey team in 1946 and still has traditional ties to the military. The first sign that something was amiss for Fedotov came on Friday. Russian media reported that he was arrested by law enforcement outside a hockey rink in his hometown of St. Petersburg, where he was filming a documentary with a television crew, and taken to a military recruitment center. Local news website Fontanka reported that he was suspected of avoiding the mandatory military service required of Russian men. Alexei Ponomaryov, a lawyer representing Fedotov, told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency on Saturday that Fedotov was taken to a military hospital with apparent stress-induced gastritis. Ponomaryov said he and Fedotov’s relatives had not been allowed to visit. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on Fedotov’s location. Russian newspaper Sport Express on Monday published what it said were photos showing Fedotov at a military base in Severodvinsk, a naval shipyard city on Russia’s northern coast, although there have been conflicting reports about his exact whereabouts. “We have a draft according to the law, so any emotional comments would be completely inappropriate,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday when asked about Fedotov’s case. “There are certain reasons for deferrals and different ways of military service for athletes.” Russia aimed to draft more than 130,000 men for a year of military service this spring. The law allows for 21 months of alternative public service in facilities such as hospitals for those who object to military service, but requests can often be ignored. In theory, Russian men can be drafted between the ages of 18 and 27, although some never serve at all. Russians often seek to avoid or delay being called up with medical or educational exemptions, and athletes are no different. Some arrange to enroll at universities in multi-year distance learning programs while continuing their athletic careers. The military also has special units for elite athletes who can continue to compete while serving. The defense ministry boasted several athletes with military ranks who competed in recent Olympics in sports ranging from judo to skiing. NHL and Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said the team is aware and investigating. Just last week, Fletcher said he expected Fedotov to compete for a roster spot next season.
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