Goalie Alexei Kolosov’s agent says he has changed his mind and is reporting to Flyers training camp

Flyers general manager Danny Brière had said that the Belarusian goalie would not be at camp, but reports indicated that Kolosov was flying to Philadelphia. His agent confirmed as much.

by Jackie Spiegel

Published Sept. 26, 2024, 1:59 p.m. ET

The writing was on the wall and lacquered over. Now that lacquer might need to be stripped.

On Sept. 17, Flyers general manager Danny Brière announced that goaltender Alexei Kolosov would not be reporting to training camp, which opened the next day with physical testing. Fast forward to Thursday, and reports started circulating, with the Athletic the first to report, that Kolosov was on a plane and heading to Philadelphia.

His agent confirmed the rumors.

“Alexei is enthusiastic about joining the Flyers for the upcoming training camp,” Daniel Milstein of Gold Star Sports Management told The Inquirer via text. “All previous concerns have been thoroughly addressed and are now resolved.”

Canada’s Sportsnet reported that the Belarusian goalie will play in the preseason and American Hockey League games but could return to the Kontinental Hockey League if he does not play in the NHL. If true, it is a turn from last week when Brière said the Flyers “have no interest in loaning him back.”

The Flyers did not immediately comment on the matter through a team spokesperson.

The latest development comes less than 24 hours after the Flyers signed Eetu Mäkiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The Finnish netminder was at Flyers training camp on a professional tryout agreement and stopped 11 of 12 shots in his preseason debut Monday in Montreal.

Mäkiniemi is not expected to be on the NHL roster at the start of the season, with Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov signed to NHL contracts, and should be joined by Kolosov with the Phantoms. Cal Petersen, Parker Gahagen, and Keith Petruzzelli are also listed on the Phantoms’ roster.

“I think on [Kolosov’s] end, it’s more about he wants to be guaranteed a spot in the NHL. If not, he prefers to stay over there, and that’s not the way we see it,” Brière said a week ago Tuesday.

“We agreed last year to loan him back [to the KHL] for one year because he wanted to stay home. But at some point, you signed a contract, and we want him here. We want him to start integrating himself with the game the way it’s played here in North America, the smaller ice, and learning the language and all of that. And I guess he doesn’t see it that way at the moment,” Brière said then.

The route to Philadelphia has been a long and winding one for Kolosov. Selected in the third round of the 2021 NHL draft, Kolosov signed an entry-level contract in 2023 before returning to the KHL on loan last season with his hometown team, Dinamo Minsk.

Kolosov, now 22, came to the U.S. around April 1 and appeared in two games with Lehigh Valley after compiling a 49-56-10 record with a 2.56 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 120 career KHL games for Minsk. After the end of the Phantoms’ playoff run, there were reports that the Belarusian was homesick and wanted to return to the KHL.

In early June, Brière told The Inquirer at the NHL scouting combine that Kolosov told the team there was “an adjustment at the end of the year” and that “it was tough coming over by himself.” But rumors continued to spread, including how Kolosov felt isolated as he did not speak English and was living in the hotel attached to the rink.

“With all the rumors that are out there, I have to say something about that, because some of our players and coaches, development guys, went above and beyond to try to help him integrate with the team,” Brière said. “I feel bad for some of the leaders, [Phantoms captain] Garrett Wilson especially, Louie Belpedio, and I could go on and on. These guys went out of their way to try to help him fit in. They would ask him to go to dinner and stuff like that.

“I talked to some of the guys, and they all said that he was fine; he was great around the rink. ... So when you hear things like that, you have to take it with a grain of salt a little bit. He had some really good people to work with around him. I get it, might be homesick, but that’s the life of a professional hockey player. You’ve got to adapt. If you want to play hockey, that’s just how it is.”

The rumors that Kolosov did not feel welcome also surprised Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière, whom Brière backed on his handling of the young goalie during his time in Allentown.

“I was as surprised as everybody behind those doors when I read what I read,” Laperrière said Sept. 16. “And to be honest, like, maybe I’m the worst coach in the world, but I make people around me comfortable. You know, I’m a friendly guy; you guys [the media] know me for 15 years.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating, because he looked really good in practice. He came to us, and he hadn’t skated for three weeks or a month, so he had some catching up to do. And we were in a playoff race, and Cal Petersen played unbelievable down the stretch, so it was a tough spot for him.

“But guys asked him to go out every night for dinner. He said no, and I get it, [he] doesn’t speak English, so that’s going to be tough. But, again, I know my English is not great now, but I didn’t speak English when I moved to Peoria, [Ill.], when I was 20. So it’s part of pro hockey when you go from one country to the other, you’ve got to learn the language. ... Hopefully, we’ll see him soon, because he is a talented kid. But I’ll play the guys that I have.”

Now it sounds as if Laperrière will have Kolosov to play.