It looks like Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov is heading to North America after his KHL club, Dinamo Minsk, took to Instagram to announce his departure and thanking him for his services to the organization.
The 22-year-old goaltending prospect was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft after posting a 6-6-0 record with a 2.15 GAA and a .915 SV% for Dinamo-Molodechno of the Belarusian league as well as a 3-5-1 record with a 2.59 GAA and a .911 SV% for Dinamo Minsk of the KHL.
After getting his first taste of the KHL in 2020-21, he earned a spot on the club the following season and played in 22 games where he sported a 2.90 GAA and a .906 SV% to go along with an 11-9-1 record. Over the last two seasons he became the starting goaltender and played in 89 games while compiling a 35-42-8 record, including 22-21-3 this past season with a .907 SV% and a 2.39 GAA.
Kolosov will most likely head to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to finish off the rest of the 2023-24 season before battling for a chance to become the backup goaltender in training camp. With Carter Hart not around, Cal Petersen banished to the minors, and Felix Sandström struggling in the NHL, Kolosov has a leg up on his counterparts and could very easily take over the starting cage in the minors in short order.
The Flyers’ goaltending landscape changed on a dime this season once the Hockey Canada investigation came to light. Samuel Ersson, who was thriving as the backup goaltender to Hart, was thrust into an unenviable position while the club looked internally for a second netminder. Kolosov represents the Flyers’ most NHL-ready goaltending prospect and should he thrive in short order, it will certainly give the front office something to think about heading into next season.
Kolosov signed his entry-level contract over the summer and as things stand today, he represents the top goaltending prospect in the system with the likes of the recently drafted duo in Egor Zavragin and Carson Bjarnason being several years away.
