After wrapping up their preseason at the end of August, the KHL, Russia’s top hockey league, has kicked off their 2023 regular season. Philadelphia Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov started the season on Dinamo Minsk’s bench as Dylan Ferguson’s backup, but got the start in the team’s second game of the year.
On Sept. 2, Minsk played Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk with former Ottawa Senator goalie Ferguson patrolling the crease, narrowly escaping with a 5-4 overtime victory. In their next game, Minsk started Flyers prospect Kolosov in a 7-0 thrashing of HC Vityaz. Although Vityaz were clearly no match for their opponents, Kolosov was still tested a fair amount, with the Belarusian turning aside all 26 shots he faced in the contest.
Kolosov key to Flyers’ future
Kolosov’s hot early start to the 2023 KHL season bodes very well for the Flyers’ future between the pipes, which has been very cloudy otherwise in recent months. It looks increasingly unlikely that Carter Hart remains with the organization beyond the 2023-24 season, Cal Petersen is a reclamation project at best, and Ivan Fedotov appears to now be a lost cause altogether.
This means that the Flyers have no present solutions in net, but they have quite a few for the future, starting with Kolosov. Danny Briere and Co. seem to have confidence that the 21-year-old will play a big role for Philly, and that could happen as soon as next year. Kolosov signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers at the beginning of July, and is currently only loaned to Minsk through the end of this season.
Meanwhile, fellow goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason will prepare to start his season with the Brandon Wheat Kings at the end of this month. 18-year-old Yegor Zavragin has also gotten some ice time, albeit in the VHL, bringing home a win in his first start of the 2023-24 season.