Flyers option top goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov to Lehigh Valley

Kolosov, 22, is the second goalie to join the organization this week after Ivan Fedotov made his NHL debut on Monday.

Goalie Alexei Kolosov playing for Belarus. The Flyers are high on him as a prospect.Read moreOksana Dzadan / AP

Published April 2, 2024, 3:37 p.m. ET

While all the talk around Philadelphia the past few days has been about 6-foot-7 Ivan Fedotov, he is only the taller half of the goaltending tandem the Flyers have brought over from Eastern Europe.

On Tuesday, the organization made the second move official by optioning netminder Alexei Kolosov, a third-round pick by the team in 2021 (No. 78 overall), to Lehigh Valley. Kolosov, 22, is regarded as one of the organization’s top prospects and recently completed his Kontinental Hockey League season with Dinamo Minsk.

A native of Belarus, Kolosov went 22-21-3 with a 2.39 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, and four shutouts in 47 games this season for Minsk. He was even better in the playoffs, with a .925 save percentage in six games.

Though Fedotov’s arrival was a stunner, Kolosov’s was always expected. The netminder signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Flyers in July and was on loan this season to Minsk. Over the weekend, his agent posted a photo alongside Kolosov in the Flyers locker room with the caption: “Philly bound.”

While Kolosov’s getting into an NHL game is not impossible, with Fedotov now here and only six Flyers regular-season games remaining, he will almost certainly finish the season with Lehigh Valley. He should be a boost for the Phantoms, who have nine games remaining. Ahead of Tuesday’s games, they were clinging to an American Hockey League playoff spot by two points.

Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr recently told The Inquirer that the plan was always for Kolosov to start in the AHL.

“So, [Kolosov’s] got lots of experience, played at a high level, has played big games,” Flahr said. “He doesn’t play for the strongest team in his league — and he gets peppered a lot of nights, and it’s been really good. I think he, realistically, will need time in the American League, just to adjust to the pro game over here, with all the traffic and the arena size and all the different things. But he is highly athletic, he’s competitive.”

Known for his athleticism, Kolosov, who is 6-foot-1 and 187 pounds, played 120 KHL games over four seasons with Minsk, compiling a 49-56-10 record with a 2.56 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He is expected to compete for a job with the Flyers next year at training camp.

Kolosov’s arrival is the latest development for what has been somewhat of a revolving door in the Flyers’ crease since Carter Hart left the team in January as he awaits trial for sexual assault in London, Ontario.

Sam Ersson has played the lion’s share of the games since, with Cal Petersen and Felix Sandström backing up the Swede without much success.

With Ersson struggling of late, possibly because of a heavy workload, Fedotov made his NHL debut in relief on Monday night. He stopped 21 of 23 shots and likely will start at least one of the team’s two back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.