It's been one of the biggest questions of the offseason. Will Alexei Kolosov be returning to North America after making his professional debut late last year?
We appear to have our answer. After numerous reports that Kolosov would prefer to stay in the KHL and continue to develop, the Flyers may have no other choice. Anthony Di Marco, a contributor with Daily Faceoff, first reported the news of Philadelphia not expecting Kolosov to report a few days ago.
At this point it sounds like the #Flyers aren't expecting Alexei Kolosov at camp and are proceeding with such assumption.
— Anthony Di Marco (@ADiMarco25) September 6, 2024
As @KKurzNHL alluded in his article, PHI is still not open to a loan to the KHL.
He has since added the Kolosov has begun practicing with Dinamo Minsk, the team he was loaned to last season. And that if he is to not report, his contract is likely to be tolled, similar to that of Ivan Fedotov two seasons ago.
How did we get here? Well, the details on all of that are still a bit fuzzy. We can only go off of the reports that have come out throughout the summer. Without a word from Kolosov or the Flyers, that is all we have at this time.
Flyers not expecting Alexei Kolosov to report for camp
This situation has been coming. Whether or not the Flyers truly believed Kolosov would not be reporting is another question we likely won't find out the answer to. But the signs have been there that the team had a feeling he wouldn't be returning. The recent PTO signing of Eetu Makiniemi was one of the biggest clues. They wouldn't need to bring in another goaltender if they were expecting to have Kolosov around.
The plan was for Kolosov to get most of the reps with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, having Cal Petersen as a mentor to lean on. There was a good chance he would get some games in the NHL as well, whether that was because of injuries or other reasons. One would have to assume this plan was made clear to him as he did come to North America at the end of last season.
Days before Ivan Fedotov's surprising arrival, it was Kolosov who first made an appearance. But he wasn't around for long, sent to the AHL to become acclimated. A playoff push for Lehigh Valley meant Kolosov wasn't going to get much playing time. He did get into two games and was the backup to Petersen during the entirety of the Calder Cup Playoffs. It appears that's where the trouble began.
Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey has been on top of this situation since it was reported as early as late July. After the Phantoms signed a pair of goaltenders, Androckitis reported that Kolosov told the organization after the season that he would not be returning. The understanding was that he felt isolated in a place where he didn't speak the language. The Phantoms did not have a player on the team that could communicate with Kolosov.
So if being homesick was the issue, it was completely understandable at the time. But to completely write off returning? That brings us back to likely not knowing the true reasons for Kolosov appearing adamant about wanting to stay and develop more in the KHL. As Di Marco also reported, the Flyers aren't exactly open to the idea of putting Kolosov on loan again. They already burned one year of his ELC by doing so.
Under these circumstances, that is where they could attempt to get his contract tolled and rolled over to the next season. The Flyers can argue that Kolosov is refusing to report despite being under contract. Not wanting to burn another year and also not wanting to terminate his contract, that is the route the team is likely to take next.
Stay tuned because it does not feel like this will be the end of things.