If you’re not already familiar with Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov, you might want to work on that. The up-and-coming netminder recorded his fourth win of the 2023-24 KHL season and has been on a tear for HC Dinamo Minsk lately.
Coming off of his second shutout of the season – a 21-save masquerade against Barys Astana – Kolosov once again commandeered the crease and racked up his fourth win against HC Vityaz in the shootout. The Belarusian saved 21 of 23 shots – good for a 0.913 save percentage – before stopping all four shootout attempts against him to secure the victory.
In recognition of his efforts, Kolosov was named the team’s Player of the Game for the second game in a row. His wins against Barys and Vityaz have brought him up to a 4-4-0 record on the season, and he boasts a 0.921 overall save percentage to go along with a goals-against-average of just 2.13. His second shutout of the season, which came against Barys, gave Minsk their first shutout victory over them in 13 years.
For the Flyers and fans, the KHL is now must-see, box-office stuff as long as studs like Kolosov and Matvei Michkov are over there. For the former, that won’t last that much longer as his loan to Minsk will expire at the end of the season. From that point, Kolosov will have two years of play on an entry-level contract with Philadelphia before becoming a restricted free agent.
The 21-year-old definitely gives the Flyers one of the best headaches you can have in hockey: a good, crowded, goalie group. Cal Petersen isn’t good and Felix Sandstrom is on his way out, and that leaves the Flyers with pending RFA Carter Hart and Sam Ersson. Ersson just extended earlier in the summer, but what happens with Hart is anyone’s guess right now.
The good news is that when he comes over, Kolosov should provide more answers than questions. This kid is looking more and more like the real deal, but the Flyers should also be wary of putting the carriage ahead of the horse.