MOSCOW, August 27, Andrey Senchenko. CSKA Head Coach Sergey Fedorov said he was unaware of a statement from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) banning army goaltender Ivan Fedotov from playing for the club until the expiration of his suspension imposed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
On Sunday, the FHR said that the organization approved CSKA's application for Fedotov, but he will not be able to play for the club until the end of the period of suspension. Earlier, the IIHF refused CSKA to register a contract with a goalkeeper for the new season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The hockey player was suspended for four months from September 1, a ban on international transfers was imposed on the capital club for a year. Later, CSKA filed an appeal with the IIHF, and the head coach of the army team, Sergei Fedorov, in an interview with the Championship announced his intention to declare Fedotov for the KHL regular season match against Kazan's Ak Bars, which will be held in Moscow on September 1.
“Vanya finally played all three periods, the entire match. I wanted it to happen earlier, but we have nowhere to rush. We understand at what stage of preparation Ivan is. period of suspension? This is beyond my responsibility. I understand what you are asking, but I have other information. FHR made a statement? Is it (statement) on the FHR website? If it is not there, I do not know about it, «- Fedorov told reporters.
“Good, fast game, Spartak outperformed us in the first period in terms of speed, in decision-making. But I understand why it happened. In the second period, we played better, in the third, too, but the removals did not allow us to develop our game. Claims I don't have any of the guys. I think that we are approaching the regular season in good condition. We went through different situations in the tournament, played different games. We have completed all the points planned for this pre-season. Now we will spend two days of rest and return to the preparation specifically for the match on September 1,» Fedorov added.
On Friday, the president of the Red-Blues, Igor Esmantovich, said that CSKA intends to apply to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the army team's appeal in the Fedotov case is not satisfied by the IIHF. Earlier, a source close to the IIHF said that the organization could remove points from CSKA in the KHL regular season, as well as impose sanctions on the leaders of the KHL and the FHR, if the army team violates the terms of Fedotov’s disqualification and declares him for KHL matches during the hockey player’s suspension.
In 2022, after winning the Gagarin Cup with CSKA, Fedotov signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, but was detained at the military enlistment office and sent to a military unit for military service. On July 8, 2023, the KHL registered Fedotov's new contract with CSKA. The National Hockey League (NHL) and Philadelphia are insisting that the goaltender's agreement with the Flyers, concluded in 2022, should be valid in the 2023-24 season.
Fedotov is 26 years old. He was selected by Philadelphia in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft with the 188th overall pick. As part of the Russian national team, Fedotov became the silver medalist of the Olympic Games in Beijing.