Mikhail Vorobyev, who once played for the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL, has pleaded guilty to buying a fake military ID that got him out of mandatory military service in Russia. Vorobyev appeared in court in Ufa Wednesday along with two other players accused of the same thing.
After entering the guilty plea, Vorobyev's case was postponed until August 22nd due to a witness being unable to attend Wednesday's court hearing. The other two players, Vladislav Lukin and Anvar Suleimanov, will both enter pleas at a later date, although Suleimanov indicated he also intends to plead guilty.
This all started when a former police officer was arrested in Russia back in April of this year after being suspected of selling fake military IDs to hockey players. A search of his phone ended with newly signed Flyers' goaltender Ivan Fedotov being shipped off to a military base to complete his mandatory service. The three players mentioned previously are all charged with bribery and could face up to 12 years in prison.
Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild was also implicated in the investigation, but it appears he's avoided any charges and is now back in the United States.
Vorobyev was a fourth-round pick of Philadelphia back in 2015. After three years in the Flyers' system, most of which was spent with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, he went back to Russia and signed with SKA St. Petersburg.
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