What a difference a year makes. Near the end of the 2023-24 season, Belarusian netminder Aleksei Kolosov was heading over to Philadelphia (with Ivan Fedotov close by). The duo would help take some of the workload off Sam Ersson or, worst case scenario, one would find himself in Lehigh Valley while the other served as Ersson’s backup. All was well with the goaltenders!
However, Kolosov’s arrival began with some controversy, namely feeling somewhat alienated in Lehigh Valley and unhappy with his situation at the end of 2023-24. Kolosov also didn’t help his own cause much by arriving later than expected for the Flyers’ training camp in September, missing the first week. Hence, this season began with Kolosov, Ersson, and Fedotov vying for two positions. And with the previous stint in the AHL not going so well, it seemed Kolosov (or his agent) had a bit of leverage they used to ensure he wouldn’t be playing in the minors for an extended period. If he ended up in the AHL, chances are he might have fled back to the KHL. A resulting three-goalie carousel did nothing productive for any of the three. In fact, Kolosov’s season may be one of the more bizarre in recent memory.
| Games Played | Starts | Wins | Losses | OT Losses | GAA | SV% | Shutouts |
| 17 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 3.59 | .867 | 0 |
The numbers speak for themselves. Five wins but a terrible goals-against average and ridiculously sub-par save percentage over 17 games. The sad part? He played more in Philadelphia than he did in Lehigh Valley! None of the basic numbers (or the underlying metrics which were explained previously) are favorable. In short, he was awful.
After playing four games for the Phantoms in October, Kolosov made his NHL debut Oct. 27 against Montreal. Subsequent starts against Boston (Nov. 2) and Carolina (Nov. 5) saw an average one (.909 save percentage against the Bruins in a 3-0 loss) and a bad one (.853 in a 6-4 loss to the Canes). But Kolosov basically sat twiddling his thumbs for the next two weeks. He stayed with the big club and practiced, but saw no game action at all. Whether the argument was between coach John Tortorella and Briere, or between Briere and Kolosov and his agent is unknown. What’s clear is most goaltenders with two AHL games experience under their belt wouldn’t be able to call the shots. Kolosov seemed to do just that.
The next three games with Philadelphia might have been Kolosov’s high point of the year: three consecutive wins (all identical 3-2 overtime victories against Chicago, Nashville, and St. Louis). For November, Kolosov had a .900 save percentage. In December, things went downhill. A Florida game he entered replacing Fedotov saw Kolosov post an .800 save percentage (16 saves on 20 shots). The lone bright spot was a 4-1 win over Detroit that saw him stop 25 of 26 shots. Two sub .800 appearances also made coach John Tortorella question what he had in a backup. It certainly wasn’t reliability.
It seemed something needed to be done after the Christmas break as Kolosov continued to be bad, allowing five goals on 20 shots in a 5-4 loss to host Los Angeles. The following game in Vegas wasn’t much better as he gave up more bad goals (or didn’t make basic saves an average NHL keeper would) in a 5-2 loss. So, with the goalie struggling as badly as he was, the Flyers kept him with the club. Again, no game action to see if he could get out of the funk. Or send him back down to Lehigh Valley, give him the playing time against easier competition, and see if he could regain some semblance of confidence.
Instead, Kolosov’s next game was Jan. 24 when the Phantoms played Springfield (where he gave up five goals on 26 shots). And that action only came after Phantoms’ goalies Eetu Makiniemi and Cal Petersen were both injured within days of each other. The remainder of the season was more enigmatic. Kolosov didn’t play a second of hockey in February in either league. Granted the Four Nations Face-Off took place which took about two weeks off the NHL slate. However for a goaltender figuratively in free fall, Kolosov kept swinging in the wind with nobody really sure what was happening. There was no plan, outside of being paid to not play. And he wasn’t doing much to help himself. Of course, with hindsight being 20/20, it’s conceivable had only one of Makiniemi or Petersen stayed healthy, Kolosov might not have seen action anywhere for two consecutive months!
In March, Kolosov had two good starts with Lehigh Valley, two more bad ones, and one decent one before he got the nod to start again with Philadelphia. Tortorella used one of the three callups after the trade deadline to give Kolosov a chance as he had no use for Ivan Fedotov anymore. After Tortorella’s firing, Kolosov saw action in two games, including the finale in Buffalo the Flyers lost 5-4. Many believed the Flyers put Kolosov in as he was the worst of three bad goaltenders the Flyers had most of the season. The loss to the Sabres put Philadelphia into the fourth slot of tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery.
From December through the rest of the NHL season, Kolosov’s save percentage was a horrid .846. After the season Kolosov didn’t meet with the media (unlike Fedotov and Ersson). Flyers general manager Danny Briere didn’t mince words when he said he told all three they needed to be better, adding he thought Kolosov learned a lot.
It’s highly unlikely that Kolosov will be given another chance to prove (or redeem) himself following 2024-25. From a financial standpoint he might be the easiest to part with as he’s the cheapest (and youngest) of the three to trade away. But no team with any expectations of success would take a chance on Kolosov. It’s probably more reasonable to suggest both the Flyers and the goalie come to an understanding where he returns to the KHL and the Flyers keep his rights. Should he turn a corner and dazzle in Russia, then at least the Flyers didn’t lose him.
Aleksei Kolosov’s tenure this season with Philadelphia was one of the oddest in recent memory. Part of a three-goalie rotation but with only 29 games between two leagues. He wasn’t good. Not by a long shot. Or wrist shot. Or slap shot. Or backhand.
2024-25 Grade: D-
