According to a report from Belarus Hockey, top Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov could return to the KHL to play for former club Dinamo Minsk after struggling to adapt to North America.
Belarus Hockey correspondent Stepan Voronkov reported Thursday that “The hockey player has problems with adaptation in North America.”
Recall that just over a month ago, on April 2, Kolosov officially joined the Flyers organization and was re-assigned from Minsk to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 22-year-old played in only two games for the Phantoms, winning one and losing the other.
Kolosov made his professional debut for the Flyers organization on Saturday, April 13, stopping 24 of 28 shots in a 5-4 Phantoms win over the Bridgeport Islanders. The Flyers starlet was much improved in his next start exactly one week later, making 22 saves on 24 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday, April 20.
Overall, Kolosov finished this brief cameo in North America with a 1-1-0 record, a 3.03 GAA, and a .885 save percentage. He did not get an opportunity to play for the Phantoms in the Calder Cup playoffs; Cal Petersen was instead the starter for Lehigh Valley.
It is possible but not overly likely that the Flyers played too conservatively with Kolosov and should have instead given the Belarusian shot-stopper a better chance of playing games. Kolosov had already supplanted castaway Felix Sandstrom as the Phantoms’ backup goalie but, for whatever reason, was not able to take minutes from Petersen, who struggled just as much as Sandstrom at both the AHL and NHL levels this season.
Voronkov’s report has not been confirmed by any of Kolosov’s representatives or by Minsk or the Flyers. If Voronkov’s report is accurate, though, the Flyers will likely need to turn to the 2024 NHL Draft to restock their goalie pipeline once again.
Russian standout Egor Zavragin and Brandon Wheat Kings star Carson Bjarnason are both still a handful of years away from turning pro. Outside of those two and Kolosov, the Flyers have their two NHL goalies, Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov.
