“Guys write to me that they are afraid to talk about Fedotov. It could affect their career.” Why the hockey family is silent

“They’ll tell me – mind your own business”

That’s what Grigori Panin wrote on social media: “It’s cool to live by the principle ‘Thank God, not with me. We all hid in our homes with our problems, did not hear, did not see, the main thing is not with me … Here is our sports circle in silence. Let’s be honest, tomorrow a similar situation can happen to anyone, and especially to young guys who will glorify our hockey abroad and defend our flag at various competitions. Fedot (Vanya Fedotov) in just two years from birth became the main goalkeeper at the Olympics, won the KHL Cup, and this is the dream of any hockey player – the NHL (it’s no secret ). But…

Anyway, they will tell me – mind your own business, do your own hockey, but Fedot wants to do his own hockey, that’s all. But some people don’t think so. This is a precedent for everyone. The league, the union (if there is one), the federation and we, the athletes, should at least help Vanya to continue her career by protecting our national and club flag.

PS Such confrontations have nothing to do with sport. There is an “axe” hanging above several other boys, one of them is a bright NHL star. Are there at least some of our boys among us? — wrote the defender.

Remember that Panin and Fedotov played together for Salavat Yulaev from 2017 to 2019. And here I am composing Grégory by zoom…

“The hockey fraternity is very quiet”

– What was your first reaction when Ivan Fedotov entered the army and 10 people detained him in St. Petersburg?

– I talk more about the news around Fedotov. I understand that it takes some time to work out the legal intricacies. It always happens, especially if there is some panic. But then the lawyers step in and the problem is sort of solved.

Maybe at first it wasn’t worth shaking the air for those who looked at it from the side. But now, I see, our hockey fraternity is behaving very quietly. Can you call it that?

– There is a quasi-official term “hockey family”.

– It’s here. After all, we all know each other – who plays in Russia, who plays in America. I decided to write on social networks myself. Maybe it will somehow support Fedotov and we can participate in his fate by making the topic public.

We have leaders of the federation, of the clubs. There are very bossy titled guys playing across the ocean. It is necessary to somehow draw attention to the subject of Fedotov.

– That’s how I see it. Fedotov, 25, may have had unresolved issues with military service. Maybe he didn’t have a reprieve, a military ID. At the same time, he did a lot for the Russian national team and CSKA last season. It is not about the fact that the public organization of the FHR is trying to excuse Fedotov from the army. But why not support it publicly? Why not come to his school in Severodvinsk to show him: “Vanya, the hockey family is with you”?

Here is my article about it.

– Why was everyone silent?

– In fact, we see not only the story of Fedotov, but a precedent for young people who can find themselves in the same situation. And it doesn’t matter where you play – in the KHL or the NHL. The guys wrote to me last night that they were afraid to say anything about it. Will something happen to them? Perhaps this situation with continued consequences and these words will somehow affect their careers.

“The hockey union in Russia is the dark side of the moon”

– It would be nice to ensure that Fedotov was allowed to go on the ice at the Severodvinsk arena. Let him walk the parade ground during the day, but train in the evening.

“I can tell you how it was in my youth. I was drafted into the army, ended up in a unit. The team was based in the same city – in Samara. I served in the unit for a short time. Then we were moved to another building. We continued to play for the Samara CSK VVS club, trained and at the same time served. It happened in the 2003/04 season and I was 18 at the time.

In other words, I did not lose my qualifications. CSKA Moscow, which owns the rights to Fedotov in the KHL, is a military club. It may be the same there. There, the problem with the army could always be settled through the courts. It’s not just that all of our famous USSR national team hockey players have military ranks – from lieutenants to colonels.

– Do we have a hockey union? Why doesn’t he say anything?

For me personally, there is no union. Maybe for someone it exists. There may be a charter that protects someone. But this organization does not work in any way. The union does not work for us. I don’t even want to name the names of those who run it from memory. That may not be entirely correct.

The hockey union in Russia is the dark side of the moon, like in Transformers. He is, but no one knows what he’s doing.

“Think how much money was invested in the preparation of Fedotov”

– A reader wrote to me in the comments of the telegram channel: “Legislation must be improved. Sport did not become one of the spheres of politics yesterday, and it should be regulated. For example, it is necessary to grant an exemption from conscription to all masters of international class, which automatically removes all champions and winners of the world championships and the Olympic Games from the field of conscripts. And it also gives motivation to young athletes. How do you like the idea?

I’d rather agree with this comment than not. Because professional sport, where you win certain titles, takes a lot of time and health.

“Now we serve in the army for a year. And you spend a lot more time exercising. And there you are also defending the honor of the country. And there too you get character building, you get physical education.

If this had been settled at the legislative level, questions like Fedotov would not have arisen. But we only share ideas, and this topic should be discussed in the State Duma.

– Let’s imagine that the FHR organizes a trip to Ivan Fedotov in Severodvinsk to visit him during training and support the guy. Would you agree to travel with this group?

– In Salavat Yulaev, training camps start on July 12. If SU management and coaching staff let me go to Severodvinsk for a few days, I would fly there.

– What can you say about the military ticket scandal in Ufa? Has anyone solved issues with military service for money?

– He was such a person, he helped solve various problems. But that’s one thing when you’re an athlete. And the other is when it goes into the legal plan. I don’t want to make any statement about it now, which might affect the course of events.

But again, I was talking about something else – about Fedotov. You can’t just throw a child into the army, whom until recently everyone thanked for the Olympics and the Gagarin Cup. If you want to play in the NHL, I’m sorry, it won’t work. Better to walk along the parade ground in Severodvinsk, study military training.

And you think how much money was invested in the preparation of Ivan Fedotov. But those few athletes who make their way to the top and should become an example for the boys. Nobody needed Fedotov a few years ago. And the last season of his career there was a sharp rise – the final of the Olympics, the final of the KHL playoffs. It’s a wonderful story when you went from the major leagues to the main goaltender of the Olympic team.

Vanya is a normal guy, very calm. But now his meteoric career may be on the wane. If you don’t even have the opportunity to practice, to skate on the ice, you will lose your skills.

I know from my own experience: if you get injured and don’t train for a month, it takes two months to get back in shape. That is, multiply by two. It turns out that after a year in the army, Fedotov will recover for two years? And what will happen to him at 28? Will he be able to become, as he wished, the main goalkeeper of the NHL club in order to represent our country on the international scene and play for the national team?

– Give a forecast, where will Fedotov perform in the upcoming season? “Philadelphia Cream”? CSKA?

I hope this situation will be resolved positively. It doesn’t matter where he plays. The most important thing is that the child simply does not break his career. It is still on the rise. He must have practice. It happens with an athlete that he changes clubs and disappears, because his playing time is reduced. Many boys have been in this situation. And then Fedotov was simply left without training, as they took the fish out of the water. When there’s no practice, you can train in the gym until you pass out, do crosses, and do push-ups on stools, but then you’ll go to a game hockey and you won’t make it.