The story of the goalkeeper of the Russian national team Ivan Fedotov, resonant and unpleasant for domestic sports, is supplemented every day with strange details. The silver medalist of the 2022 Olympic Games did not continue his career at CSKA and signed a contract with Philadelphia in early May.

However, it seems that the keeper will not become a “pilot”, and will spend the next year in the status of a sailor. Fedotov in St. Petersburg was detained after training and taken to the draft board. Soon there were reports that Fedotov was sent to the training unit of the Navy in the Murmansk region. Further, the goalkeeper of the national team is waiting for distribution, after which he gets to the Northern Fleet.

Contrary to the expectations of the fans, none of the well-known Russian hockey players took the side of the national team keeper. Moreover, many do not see anything terrible in this situation and argue that the army will only benefit Fedotov.

Ovechkin remains silent

The story of Fedotov’s unexpected draft into the army immediately began to grow into conspiracy theories. The main version is connected with CSKA’s resentment against its already ex-goalkeeper. According to fans, the Moscow club is thus taking revenge on Fedotov for signing a contract with Philadelphia.

Nevertheless, the fans hoped that they would not find a job before serving in the army, and Fedotov would get off with a slight fright. The status of the silver medalist of the Olympics and the Gagarin Cup won seemed like airbags that should save the goalkeeper from a temporary suspension of his sports career. In addition to personal merits, there is also a friendly hockey family that was supposed to defend Fedotov.

However, medals and cups did not affect the situation in any way. Fedotov did not wait for support from his colleagues either. Ivan’s supporters had particular hopes for Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin, who is in the top 10 most influential people in hockey according to The Hockey News. Support from the main star of Russian hockey would definitely not be superfluous, but Ovi decided to remain silent.

“Would you like to talk about Fedotov?” No, why? – Ovechkin is quoted by the telegram channel “Inside from Karp”.

Photo: © RvS.Media / Monika Majer / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Fedotov was left all alone

And if Ovechkin gave a laconic answer, then Fedotov’s other colleagues talk about legal justice. In general, the keeper supposedly himself is to blame for not resolving the issue with the army until now. The ex-forward of “Dallas” Alexander Radulov also speaks about this.

– I think that everything will be fine. Of course, an unpleasant situation, because Fedotov showed himself well last season – he won the silver of the Olympics, performed well for CSKA and won the Gagarin Cup. Apparently, something was wrong with his documents,” Radulov said on Match TV.

The weak position of modern hockey players on this issue can still be justified by the fact that they themselves have not encountered such a situation. Therefore, fans were waiting for comments from Soviet athletes who know firsthand how to combine the army and hockey. However, the famous defender Vyacheslav Fetisov began to talk about the legal side of the issue, and not about the moral.

– As I understand it, Ivan must serve and will not be able to play in the NHL. I don’t know how much it will improve or worsen relations with the NHL. Probably, other points come into force here – first of all, compliance with the law. For example, the same Finnish players and other Europeans have constitutional draft duties. And before they leave to play somewhere, they must pay their military duty, ”Gazeta.Ru quotes Fetisov.

The Russian Hockey Federation is also in no hurry to defend one of the heroes of the Olympics, taking a wait-and-see and cautious position.

– The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is monitoring the situation with the goalkeeper of the Russian national team Ivan Fedotov regarding his military service. The FHR turned to state authorities to clarify the details of the case, ”the press service of the FHR quotes Tretiak as saying.

“Oh my God, what did they do to him”

While hockey players keep silent or say routine phrases, some other representatives of the sports community actively support Fedotov. The great figure skating coach Tatyana Tarasova did it most vividly and emotionally.

“Oh my God, what did they do to him. I know he wanted to go to the NHL. He will not leave for the NHL already, this is understandable. I shouldn’t have told this to anyone. Very hard, I was upset for the guy. But nothing, during the service he will become more powerful and healthier. He just doesn’t need to go anywhere. I am very upset, – RIA Novosti Sport quotes Tarasova.

Tatyana Tarasova / Photo: © Dmitry Golubovich / Global Look Press

Tatyana Anatolyevna not only trained dozens of Olympic champions in figure skating, she is also the daughter of the legendary hockey coach Anatoly Tarasov, and therefore understands the specifics of hockey and knows exactly what she is talking about. One can only hope that the forecast of a caring specialist, concerned about the fate of Fedotov, will not come true, and one day he will play in the strongest league in the world.