As we prepare for hockey season, we will take a weekly, in-depth look into the Philadelphia Flyers’ projected roster.
This week: Goaltenders
Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Flyers are expected to start the season with Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov as their tandem.
Ivan Fedotov
Fedotov, standing at 6’7″, who will turn 28 this November, was initially drafted by the Flyers in 2015 in the 7th Round at pick 188 and had a tumultuous route to the Flyers.
With CSKA Moskow last year, Fedotov posted a .914 save percentage and 2.37 GAA. For his KHL career, Fedotov posted a 61-55-8 record with a .921 save percentage and 2.22 GAA.
Fedotov’s initial ELC with the Flyers was signed on May 7, 2022.
Then, in July 2022, Fedotov was retained in Russia and accused of evading military service. Fedotov was forced to serve a year of military service. In August 2023, the IIHF agreed that the 2022 entry-level contract Fedotov signed with the Flyers was valid. As a result of their finding, Fedotov could join the NHL, depending on his military status. Further, the IIHF suspended Fedotov from international play for 3-years. Thankfully for Flyers fans, the suspension does not apply to the NHL, just international competition.
Then, unexpectedly this past April, Fedotov’s service was completed, and he quickly joined the team and dazzled the crowd in his unexpected NHL debut, a 20-minute unexpected relief appearance, turning away 15 of 16 shots fired.
Shortly after the season, the Flyers signed Ivan Fedotov to a 2-year, $6.5 million contract.
Fedotov’s new contract was a necessity for the Flyers, even if the signing was somewhat unique in that it came after Fedotov appeared in only 3 NHL games, posting a 0-1-1 record and surrendering 10 goals for an elevated 4.95 GAA and paltry .811 save percentage.
Due to his required military service, Fedotov did not play in either the KHL or the NHL last year. As a result, the Flyers were able to toll his contract into the 2023-24 season. Hence, after Fedotov’s late three games played this past year under his original ELC, he needed a new contract.
Sam Ersson
For Sam Ersson, the jury may still be out, yet the early verdict is that Ersson is a sub .900 professional North American goaltender.
Sam’s last long stretch of consistent hockey with a save percentage above 900 was when he posted a .911 in 42 games in Brynas IF in the SHL in 2020. In his SHL career, Ersson posted a 2.93 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 78 games.
In the AHL, Ersson posted a 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage with the Phantoms over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
After 63 NHL games, Ersson’s GAA and save percentage in his early NHL years were 2.87 and .892, eerily similar to his AHL numbers. It’s worth noting that the save percentage itself is misleading, especially over the short term.
Ersson has posted a solid 29-22-7 record thus far in the NHL with a middling Flyers team, playing the goaltending position that was in turmoil and in need of some solid play and leadership. Ersson provided that to the Flyers last year, stabilizing the position with the team, coach, and fans getting behind him. At least the Flyers did not have to repeat the 7-goalie carousel of yesteryear, following the Carter Hart departure mid-season.
Is Sam Ersson more than a bridge from one potential franchise goalie to another potential franchise goalie? Can Ersson put it all together and give this Flyers team a formidable one-two punch in net?
This season will be revealing, and Ersson should be motivated as it’s a contract year.
Ersson was signed to a three-year ELC in June 2021 and is a pending free agent at the end of this year.
Career Stats for Potential NHL and AHL Tandems This Year
Goaltending (NHL Career Totals)
Name |
Age |
Height / Weight |
GP |
GAA |
Save Percentage |
| Sam Ersson | 24 | 6’3″ – 194 lbs. | 63 | 2.87 | .892 |
| Ivan Fedotov | 27 | 6’8″ – 203 lbs. | 3 | 4.95 | .811 |
| Cal Petersen | 29 | 6’2″ – 185 lbs. | 106 | 2.96 | .903 |
Goaltending (AHL Career Totals)
Name |
Age |
Height / Weight |
GP |
GAA |
Save Percentage |
| Cal Petersen | 29 | 6’2 – 185 lbs. | 184 | 3.12 | .904 |
| Alexei Kolosov | 22 | 6’0″ – 185 lbs. | 2 | 3.03 | .885 |
| Parker Gahagen | 31 | 6’3″ – 195 lbs. | 30 | 2.87 | .903 |
| Nolan Maier | 23 | 6’0″ – 172 lbs. | 10 | 2.66 | .896 |
Notables:
Carter Hart played 26 games for the Flyers last season and a total of 227 regular season games for the Flyers and is currently an unrestricted free agent. Hart was a restricted free agent earlier this summer but was not tendered a qualifying offer from the Flyers this summer due to the ongoing sexual assault case stemming from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team.
Felix Sandstrom, who had played 30 games for the Flyers since the 2021 season, signed as a free agent by Buffalo, July 1, 2024.
Alexei Kolosov was drafted 78th overall by the Flyers in 2021.
Conclusion: The Great Big Hope
The first thing that jumps out at you is the NHL inexperience between the pipes for the Flyers heading into next season, especially for a team looking to take the next step.
With a total of 66 NHL games to the credit of the tandem of Ersson and Fedotov, the Flyers undoubtedly enter the season with one of the most inexperienced tandems in the NHL this year and, frankly, most years. Cal Peterson has 100+ games of experience in the NHL yet will most likely spend his year in the AHL with his bloated $5MM cap hit.
The Flyers brass are banking on Ersson’s steadying NHL play and their tandem’s combined international experience.
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Fedotov, playing for CSKA, a hockey club of the Russian Army, was named a finalist for the KHL’s goaltender of the year during the 2021-22 season, leading the team to the league championship. In the 2023-24 season for CSKA Moskva in the KHL, Fedotov posted a .914 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average in 44 games.
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A few months ago, in May, Ersson, the Flyer’s 143rd pick in 2018, won a bronze medal backing up for Sweden at the 2024 IIHF World Championship. Sam also represented Sweden in the World Junior U-20 Championships in 2019, where he posted a .922, going 3-1 in 4 games.
In their early NHL careers, Ersson and Fedotov have yet to consistently reach the .900 save percentage level, with the sample size being too small, at least for Fedotov.
Save percentage should be a concern for this Flyers team. Under head coach John Tortorella in 2023-24, the Flyers tied the Ottawa Senators for the worst regular season save percentage in the league at .884. The Winnipeg Jets led the league with a .918 save percentage. That’s a mighty big discrepancy.
Hart considered the unquestionable starter over the past three seasons, averaged a .906 save percentage for the Flyers from the 2021-22 season up to and including the 26 games played in 2023-24 before leaving the team for personal reasons. The point was that Hart’s solid goaltending in prior years was not enough to push the team into deep playoff runs, as the overall team(s) were not consistently good enough.
It will be interesting to see if the Flyers end up with a more even split of games between Fedotov and Ersson as the season progresses, a trend that more NHL teams seem to be adopting.
Regardless, the future is now here for the Flyers in the net. For a Flyers team looking to take the next step, they will need their goalies to play to their potential and, frankly, beyond.
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