That evening, Ivan Fedotov was supposed to sit on the changing table. But that’s not where straight-talking stormtrooper John Tortorella should be marching. When two of the opening six shots ended up in the net of the Philadelphia Flyers, he decided to give the team a boost and pointed to the Russian giant. Baptism by fire, textbook. “But I’m not some young ear to be thrown off by it,” Fedotov finally said.
To jump into the game?
Certainly nothing new for Fedotov at the age of twenty-seven.
However, what was new for him was revealed at the beginning of the extension. A colossus measuring over two meters stood in the wrong cage. It didn’t occur to him that in the NHL, goalies exchange possession after 60 minutes. Just like after every break between periods.
Ignorance is no excuse, the classic would say. But Fedotov, with a smile, drew attention to the North American customs of his compatriot Semjon Varlamov. After a short dialogue, the former mainstay of CSKA Moscow already marched across the rink.
“It was funny. I was like, ‘Fuck you,'” he told overseas reporters after picking up a point for the Flyers in the Eastern Conference standings.
He was especially effective in the second period, when he caught 16 of 17 New York Islanders shots. “In that period, he was our only player who played well. He absolutely amazed me,” praised Tortorella Fedotova, whose journey to the NHL will not start with a B thriller. Among other things, it led through a military base beyond the Arctic Circle.
Fedotov flashed several nice maneuvers, repeatedly held Philadelphia, for example withstood Matt Barzal’s break.
“I don’t care if I catch from the first minute or jump in during the game. My attitude doesn’t change, I always want to help the team,” he said about his unusual and hardly forgettable debut in the NHL. So characteristic of him and his turbulent life.
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Tags: Move side Russian novice instructed compatriot Tortorella amazed
