Sammi’s Daily: Latest On Ivan Fedotov, Trial In Russia, Capitals, UFA Updates

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov’s case made it to Russian court on Thursday. Fedotov was not present, and his lawyer, Alexey Ponomarev appeared in court for just 17 minutes, per InsideTheGames. Fedotov’s preliminary hearing is now scheduled for Sept. 20.

On July 1, Fedotov was detained outside a St. Petersburg ice rink for allegedly dodging military service (all men aged 18-27 in Russia must serve at least one year in the military). Authorities then took Fedotov to a military enlistment office, where Fedotov fell ill and was subsequently hospitalized. Ponomarev also told Russian media that Fedotov had been injected with foreign substances. After his time in the hospital, Fedotov was sent to a naval base in the Arctic to begin his military training.

Fedotov, a top goaltending prospect, played with CSKA this past season. CSKA has close ties to the Russian military. Fedotov impressed for his club, going 14-10-2 and boasting an impressive .919 save percentage and 2.00 GAA. He also went 4-2 with a .943 SV% and 1.61 GAA to help lead the Russian Olympic Committee to silver in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. After the season, Fedotov announced he would head overseas for 2022-23 to begin his NHL career with the Flyers.

In other NHL news, the Washington Capitals and the rest of the league are approaching training camp and the preseason. There is still work to do, as Nazem Kadri and other top UFAs need new deals. The Capitals may also have to consider some roster decisions ahead of the season.

Here are all the latest news and notes from D.C. and across the NHL:

Washington Capitals Links

• The Capitals’ AHL-affiliate Hershey Bears have a new coaching staff, headlined by six-time championship winner Todd Nelson. (WHN)
• Despite an influx of centers, Washington should hold on to Lars Eller for now and not make any more moves before the 2022-23 campaign. (WHN)

NHL Links

• The Vegas Golden Knights are in desperate need of a goalie with Robin Lehner expected to miss the entire 2022-23 season due to a hip injury. (VHN)
• Ilya Sorokin is back in the United States, which is good news for the New York Islanders, who are still attempting to sign Nazem Kadri. (NYIHN)

Sammi’s Top Shelf Takes

• Cale Makar made the most of his day with the Stanley Cup and did what every kid dreams of: filling the top bowl with a Slurpee. He did just that with his brother Taylor, who is also a Colorado Avalanche prospect.

Cale Makar and his brother, Taylor, get their Slurpee! And it wasn’t an impulse buy. 🙂 #StanleyCup @Avalanche @NHL @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/M4PJahRyab

— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 12, 2022

• Alex Ovechkin will play in the Ovi Cyber Cup. It is an NHL22 tournament, with the prize pool being $1 million rubles, per sportbox.ru. Ovechkin has played in quite a few charity matches this summer. Now, he’ll get to compete in another one, and this time, it’s all online.