In his two starts for the Philadelphia Flyers this season, backup goalie Ivan Fedotov has allowed 10 goals on just 55 shots against.
After getting yanked in Thursday night’s 6-4 loss to the Seattle Kraken, Fedotov owns a career record of 0-3-1 and is not showing any signs of hope for the future just yet.
Brandon Montour and Jared McCann each beat Fedotov cleanly between the legs for two cheap goals, which exposed the Flyers backup’s shoddy mechanics and lack of anticipation in net.
For the Kraken’s third of six goals, Eeli Tolvanen cleaned up the garbage in front after Fedotov spilled a massive rebound, which should have been a routine save, to a prime scoring area. Tolvanen did the rest.
Fedotov very much looks like a goalie who needs to work on his technique and continue to learn the North American game. But, the Flyers need a capable backup goalie, and they need one now.
The 6-foot-8 Fedotov will turn 28 years old on Nov. 28; how much time can the Flyers afford to spend on his development with young goalies like Carson Bjarnason, Egor Zavragin, and Alexei Kolosov all knocking the door?
The sad but true answer is, not much.
Alexei Kolosov Ready for Flyers Role
In contrast to Ivan Fedotov, Alexei Kolosov excels in all the areas Fedotov does not.
The Belarusian is an explosive athlete going side-to-side and possesses excellent bend and body control at the waist. This allows Kolosov to aggressively anticipate plays, despite his average 6-foot build, and fight through screens and moving traffic in front of him without sacrificing much reaction time.
Flyers GM Danny Briere revealed in a Sept. 17 press conference that his understanding was that Kolosov wanted a full-time NHL role out of the gate, which was something the organization was not willing to promise him.
A few days later, on Sept. 26, the 22-year-old suddenly reported to training camp after he and agent Dan Milstein apparently resolved any misunderstanding between their camp and the Flyers.
Prior to the start of the 2024-25 regular season, Briere did not rule out the possibility that Kolosov could be loaned back to the KHL after a certain period of time, but, for now, Kolosov is the No. 1 goalie for the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
That could soon change, especially if Fedotov proves he is a bigger work in progress than his Belarusian counterpart.
Flyers fans have grown increasingly frustrated with Fedotov’s lack of improvement after some ugly performances at the end of the 2023-24 season, and while the 27-year-old Russian will have time to figure things out, he will be under some pressure.
Reports have indicated that Kolosov is willing to stay in the AHL through the end of October before considering a return to the KHL, and while neither Briere nor the team has directly confirmed this, it may not matter if the level of play between the pipes remains the same.
After Saturday’s home-opener against the visiting Vancouver Canucks, the Flyers play a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.
After that, the Flyers host the Minnesota Wild and the Montreal Canadiens for a home back-to-back on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27.
In all likelihood, Fedotov will get at least two more starts before the end of the month, thanks to the Flyers’ schedule.
If he cannot turn things around in either of those games, the fans’ calls for Kolosov will reach deafening new heights.
