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Alexei Kolosov

Flyers Notes: Michkov, Ersson, Kolosov

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Matvei Michkov will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career tonight, head coach John Tortorella told reporters (including Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports). He got back on the scoresheet Tuesday against the Hurricanes with a power-play assist, but he hasn’t recorded an even-strength point since Oct. 26 against the Wild and has seen his minutes reduced over the past four games. He’ll sit for Anthony Richard, who will make his Flyers debut after being recalled in place of the IR-bound Ryan Poehling yesterday.

“Just part of the process,” Tortorella said. “We’re trying to help him. I told you guys: with young guys, they can watch games too, as part of development. It’s trying to help him.” Sitting the Calder Trophy frontrunner for a game is something he’s hinted at for a few days.

Michkov, the seventh overall pick in 2023, has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) through his first NHL 13 games and is averaging 17:50 per game. Despite his struggles to produce offense at even strength, he’s carrying possession well. The Flyers control 48.4% of shot attempts with Michkov on the ice compared to 44.7% without him.

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • Goaltender Samuel Ersson remains out of the lineup tonight against the Lightning as he continues to nurse a lower-body injury, per Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was a participant in morning skate, though, signaling a return isn’t far off. It’ll be his second game missed with the injury, putting a pause on what had been a good start to the season for the 25-year-old with a .901 SV%, 2.68 GAA and 0.5 GSAA.
  • Unfortunately, he’s not the only Flyers netminder with injury issues. While they initially anticipated giving Aleksei Kolosov his third career NHL start tonight, he sustained an undisclosed injury during morning skate and may be unavailable to dress, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Without time to get a recall from AHL Lehigh Valley to Tampa for tonight’s game, they’ll need to rely on the arena’s designated emergency backup goaltender if Kolosov isn’t cleared to play. He may still be healthy enough to dress as the backup, but either way, it appears Ivan Fedotov will get a chance to get back on track after logging a horrid .821 SV% and 5.35 GAA through his first three showings.

Flyers Recall Alexei Kolosov, Emil Andrae; Place Cameron York On IR

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7:04 PM: The Flyers organization confirmed the transaction of Andrae and Kolosov’s recall. Additionally, the team announced they’ve placed York on injured reserve as he will miss the next few weeks with an upper-body injury.

6:49 PM: The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled defenseman Emil Andrae and goaltender Alexei Kolosov from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, per Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco. Di Marco adds that Kolosov is expected to start for the team on Sunday, though NHL.com’s Kevin Kurz wasn’t ready to ensure that role. Kolosov stands as one of many high-profile goalie prospects in Philadelphia’s system. He’s started all four of Lehigh Valley’s regular season games so far this season, allowing 13 goals on 104 shots – good for an .875 save percentage.

Kolosov, 22, moved to the AHL at the end of last season, playing in two games with the Phantoms and allowing six goals on 52 shots. The spot starts came after Kolosov spent the season starting for the KHL’s Dynamo Minsk, where he posted a .907 through 47 games. It was his second season of starting for Dynamo, having posted a .912 in 42 games the year prior – after growing through the team’s junior ranks. He’d ultimately total a .909 save percentage through 120 games, and four seasons, at Russia’s top-level – though he became popular with strong performances for Team Belarus internationally. He joined the team at the World U18 Championship in 2019, Division A of the World Junior Championships in 2020 and 2022, and the World Championship in 2021. Of all of the international trips, it was the 2022 Division-A World Juniors that saw Kolosov shine the brightest – posting a .932 save percentage and flawless record through five games.

While Kolosov joins the battle for starting minutes, Andrae will once again return to the fight for a blue-line role. The 22-year-old defender played in four scoreless games with Philadelphia last season, but ultimately spent the bulk of his season in the minors. His 32 points in 61 games led all Phantoms defenders in scoring and brought Andrae up to 38 points in 71 career AHL games. He recorded an assist in his sole AHL appearance this year, and will now back the Flyers D-corps as they prepare for weeks without Cameron York. Andrae will fight for games with Erik Johnson and Yegor Zamula.

Snapshots: Greig, Blake, Dunn, Kolosov

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Senators center Ridly Greig is dealing with an upper-body injury, relays Sportsnet’s Alex Adams (Twitter link).  The 22-year-old locked down a regular spot in Ottawa’s lineup for most of last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 72 games while logging nearly 15 minutes a night.  Greig has been on the wing to start the year and missed a couple of shifts in Saturday’s game against Montreal, presumably due to the injury.  He might not be out for long, however, as head coach Travis Green noted that Greig could still suit up on Monday against Los Angeles.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Hurricanes quietly papered winger Jackson Blake down to AHL Chicago on Saturday. However, his time there was short-lived as he has already been recalled, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The move simply allowed them to bank a few thousand dollars in cap space with Carolina’s game against Tampa Bay postponed yesterday.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Hurricanes do this with some regularity with Blake, their lone waiver-exempt player, to try to open up a bit more spending flexibility.
  • Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays team broadcaster Piper Shaw (Twitter link). He played into the final minute of Saturday’s game but the issue was enough to keep him out of tonight’s contest against Dallas.  The 27-year-old has two points in his first two games this season after putting up 46 in 59 appearances in 2023-24.
  • Late last month, Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov ended his stalemate with the team, reporting to training camp after an agreement was reached that could allow for a potential return later on. That potential return might come sooner than later, however, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this week in his 32 Thoughts column that Philadelphia only has until the end of the month to convince him about their plans for him.  Kolosov made it known over the summer that he wants to play in the KHL this season if he was going to be in the minors.  While he’s with the Phantoms for now, he might not be there for too much longer based on Friedman’s report.

Flyers’ Alexei Kolosov Will Report To Remainder Of Training Camp

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The Flyers and goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov have settled their months-long dispute, per multiple reports Thursday morning. The Belarusian netminder is on his way to Philadelphia, according to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, and will see action with the Flyers before their preseason schedule comes to an end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds.

Concern around the 2021 third-round pick first arose in May, when reports out of Belarus indicated he felt isolated during his brief stint with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms to end last season and wanted to be loaned back to Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League for 2024-25. Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis then reported in late July that Kolosov had informed the Flyers he wouldn’t report to the Phantoms this season, which general manager Daniel Brière later refuted.

Kolosov, 22, then switched his representation to Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein, who informed the Flyers in a late August meeting that the netminder wanted to return to Minsk on loan for the second year of his entry-level contract, something Brière was unwilling to do. With no change in either side’s position over the past few weeks, Kolosov remained in Belarus and was not listed on the Flyers’ initial training camp roster. He’d recently been made available in trade talks, Friedman said last week, although Philly could very well take his name off the block if his return to North America goes well.

The netminder will see preseason action and accept an initial assignment to AHL Lehigh Valley, Friedman reports Thursday. He adds they’ve reached an agreement for a “potential return” to the KHL if Kolosov doesn’t get an NHL chance with the Flyers during the season, though.

While he’s likely not ready for full-time NHL duties yet, there’s legitimate upside in Kolosov’s game. He’s already built up quite the professional resume at a young age, serving as Dinamo’s starter for the past three seasons. He’s been steady for a largely middling squad, posting a career-best 22-21-3 record in 47 games last year with a .907 SV% and 2.39 GAA. Kolosov had a .885 SV% and 3.03 GAA in two appearances for the Phantoms to end last season.

The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz was first to indicate that Kolosov would be reporting to camp.

Flyers Notes: Johansen, Kolosov, Injuries

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Flyers general manager Daniel Briere met with reporters today (video link) in advance of training camp opening up.  One of the items he spoke about was the Ryan Johansen situation.  Earlier this summer, the team announced they would be terminating his contract, citing a material breach (without providing any further specifics) with Johansen’s camp indicating they would be grieving.  However, there hasn’t been any other news on this front since then.  Briere noted that the ball is in Johansen’s camp at this point and that as far as he’s concerned, the deal has been terminated.  In doing so, Philadelphia has opened up $4MM in cap space but that could be re-added in full or in part should a grievance hearing ultimately reinstate part or all of the contract.

More from Briere’s presser:

  • One of the storylines around the team in recent days is the Alexei Kolosov situation. The netminder doesn’t want to play in the AHL this season while the team has placed a high asking price on him in trade talks.  Briere noted that his understanding is that Kolosov wants a guaranteed NHL position or to be loaned back to the KHL which is a move the team isn’t willing to make.  The 22-year-old posted a 2.39 GAA and a .907 SV% in 47 games with KHL Dinamo Minsk last season, numbers that don’t necessarily scream NHL-ready, especially with returnees Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov in the fold.
  • Injuries were an issue for the Flyers last season with several key regulars missing time. However, Briere said that the team was fully healthy heading into camp (excluding Ryan Ellis who isn’t expected to play again).  That’s particularly notable with center Sean Couturier and defenseman Jamie Drysdale undergoing sports hernia surgeries at the end of the season while blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen had surgery to repair a ruptured triceps tendon in April.

Flyers Making Alexei Kolosov Available In Trade Talks

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The Philadelphia Flyers continue to look for a resolution with goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov regarding his future with the organization. The young netminder spurned the Flyers this week by not reporting to their rookie camp and he’s not expected to join the team for training camp either as he hopes to return to his home country of Belarus for the 2024-25 season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote this morning that Philadelphia has made Kolosov available to interested teams but there’s no indication a change of scenery would dissuade his desire to return home.

A lack of communication has been made apparent between the Flyers’ brass and Kolosov as many people within the organization are confused by Kolosov’s request. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic recently spoke to the head coach of the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ian Laperriere, and he said players on the Phantoms made repeated attempts for Kolosov to join them for team activities but were rejected.

Kolosov debuted with the organization at the end of last season. The young netminder skated in two games for the Phantoms while securing a 1-1-0 record with a .885 save percentage. He spent most of last year with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk (the team he is looking to rejoin) producing a 22-21-3 record in 47 games with a .907 SV%.  He holds a career .909 SV% over four years in the KHL and does not appear interested in continuing his development in North America.

The Flyers are reportedly asking for a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft but many teams are hesitant to pay that price. There has not been any confirmation either way if Kolosov is not comfortable playing in a foreign place or if he’s unhappy with the Flyers organization specifically. No team will sacrifice a second-round pick in a relatively deep draft class if Kolosov has no intentions of returning to North America. If Kolosov is willing to return to the NHL under a new organization it is reasonable to assume the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and Tampa Bay Lightning would maintain some level of interest in the former 78th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft.

The Flames could use a stronger long-term option next to Dustin Wolf and the Blackhawks may be looking for someone to upseat Drew Commesso as the organization’s top goaltending prospect. Colorado’s reported interest in Yaroslav Askarov indicates the team is looking to address their long-term answer in the crease despite their limited draft capital. Lastly — the Lightning currently has Los Angeles’ and Toronto’s second-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft thanks to a couple of trades this offseason. The team may be willing to part with one of them to solve their backup goaltending situation heading into the 2024-25 regular season.

Metropolitan Notes: Howe, Hurricanes, Kolosov

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect Tanner Howe will reportedly not take part in the prospect challenge event that is taking place in Buffalo this weekend due to an injury (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Howe is dealing with a facial injury that will keep him out of action in the short term, although he is being called day to day. No specifics of the facial injury were released.

Howe was selected by the Penguins in the second round of this year’s NHL entry draft (46th overall) and was quickly signed to an ELC in early July. The 18-year-old will likely return to Regina to captain the Pats once again this season and shouldn’t face any issues with the injury as it isn’t expected to be a long-term concern.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes unveiled development plans today that are expected to create a Raleigh Sports and Entertainment District that will surround Carolina’s home PNC Arena. Pacific Elm Properties and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment formally announced the plans that will see the redevelopment of the 80-acre site into a $1B mixed-use development. The new area will provide dining and entertainment options for fans of both the Hurricanes and nearby North Carolina State basketball as well as sports tailgating and programming, including a large 4300-seat music venue. Work on the project is expected to begin in December 2025.
  • Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov will reportedly not be taking part in the team’s 2024 rookie training camp that starts tomorrow (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports). The news likely means that the 22-year-old will not be part of the team’s main camp and leaves his status up in the air heading into the 2024-25 season. Reports had leaked earlier in the summer that Kolosov may return to the KHL because of issues adapting to life in North America after he spent a month in the AHL with the Flyers affiliate. Kolosov has signed his entry-level deal with the Flyers and the team expects him to play in North America this season, but his absence from rookie camp further complicates the situation between the player and team.

Latest On Alexei Kolosov

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Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov continues to be shrouded in uncertainty about whether he’ll report to the club for training camp next week, and speculation persists about where he’ll play this season.

Philly’s front office reportedly met with Kolosov’s camp, now led by agent Dan Milstein, late last month. Since then, it’s been reported that the Flyers still don’t have a firm answer on whether Kolosov will report to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but they’re operating under the assumption that he won’t.

If he doesn’t report and instead signs a contract with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League for 2024-25, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco reports the final two years of his entry-level contract will likely be tolled to the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns. Notably, the situation very nearly mirrors the one the Flyers found themselves in when netminder Ivan Fedotov, who was signed to a valid NHL deal for the 2022-23 season, was prevented from reporting due to required military service in his native Russia and remained under contract with KHL club CSKA Moscow.

Fedotov’s deal instead went into effect for 2023-24. Although he signed an agreement last year with CSKA in violation of his NHL contract (which resulted in hefty sanctions to both parties from the IIHF), he managed to get out of his contract with CSKA and make his NHL debut for the Flyers in the closing days of the season.

Kolosov, a Minsk native, has made it clear he wants the Flyers to loan him back to Dinamo this season. The Flyers are still intent on having him log starts for Lehigh Valley, though, and that disconnect is what’s fueling their current dispute.

If Kolosov signs a contract with Dinamo for 2024-25 (or longer), violating his contract with Philadelphia, it won’t result in the same sanctions that Fedotov’s deal spurred. That’s because the KHL’s directors voted in July to make the league independent from the IIHF and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, meaning they no longer need either governing body’s permission to sign players from foreign leagues.

Kolosov, still just 22, was a third-round pick of the Flyers in 2021. While on the small end at 6’0″ and 185 lbs, that hasn’t stopped him from growing into his own as a starter in one of the world’s top professional leagues at a young age.

Before coming to Philadelphia to end last season, Kolosov recorded career-highs in appearances (47), GAA (2.39), shutouts (4), and wins (22) in the KHL regular season for Dinamo. He put a bow on the campaign with a spectacular .925 SV% in six postseason games as Minsk fell to Dynamo Moscow. However, he struggled in brief action after coming over to Lehigh Valley, limited to a .885 SV% and 3.03 GAA in a win and a loss in two appearances.

Flyers Notes: Johansen, Kolosov, Znarok

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While the Flyers were hoping to get some confirmation on the Ryan Johansen situation in the near future, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that it may take until closer to the start of the regular season before they get a resolution on that front.  Philadelphia has run the veteran through termination waivers citing a breach of contract, one that his representation intends to grieve citing Johansen’s hip injury.  However, the actual termination has not yet taken place, meaning his $4MM cap charge remains on their books in full.  At the moment, the team would need to dip into LTIR, per PuckPedia, an outcome that wouldn’t be necessary if the Flyers are indeed able to get Johansen’s deal off their books entirely.

More from Philadelphia:

  • Also from Kurz, a team source notes that Alexei Kolosov’s situation remains “in limbo” after a late-August meeting between the club and the goaltender’s representatives. His situation has been well-documented with Kolosov’s desire being to play in the KHL this season on loan, something that the Flyers don’t want to do.  While Calvin Petersen (pending waiver clearance in the preseason) will be at AHL Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia’s preference is to have Kolosov developing down there as their third-stringer with the potential to see NHL action at some point in the season.  We’ll find out in the coming weeks which side gets their way.
  • While not announced by the team, they have hired long-time international coach Oleg Znarok as their European Player Development and Scouting Consultant, according to their hockey personnel page. The 61-year-old coached in Latvia and Russia for the better part of two decades, including multiple stints at the World Championship and the Olympics.  Out of coaching since late 2022, it appears that Znarok has given up on going back behind a bench and will now serve as an advisor to a Philadelphia team that is getting Matvei Michkov this season while having Ivan Fedotov for an entire year after he got his feet wet in the NHL late in 2023-24.

East Notes: Kapanen, Kolosov, Mercer

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Canadiens center prospect Oliver Kapanen signed a two-year deal with Swedish Hockey League club Timrå IK back in May. He’s already made quite an impression on his new head coach, longtime NHLer Olli Jokinen, who showered the 21-year-old with praise in a recent interview with Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gambling.

In fact, Jokinen’s been so pleased with Kapanen’s play during the SHL preseason that he’s concerned about him spending more time than expected in Montreal next month when he heads to North America for training camp. “He’s been too good for our league so far this preseason, playing like a dominant force in every single game,” Jokinen said. “He’s been great offensively, scoring some goals, but also defensively and in the faceoff circle, which will be his biggest advantage going into Montreal.”

Kapanen may have inked a multi-year commitment with Timrå, but he also signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens shortly thereafter. While technically eligible for assignment to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, there’s a European Assignment Clause in his ELC that will allow him to return to Timrå if cut from Montreal’s NHL roster, Jokinen said.

It would be a surprise to see Kapanen unseat another Canadiens youngster like Joshua Roy to win a roster spot, but the Finnish national is certainly trending in the right direction after recording 34 points in 51 games last season with Liiga’s KalPa. If he does play this season in Timrå, he’ll likely be their leader in ice time among forwards as “a first-line center with power play and penalty kill time,” said Jokinen.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Flyers are now operating under the assumption that goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov won’t be reporting to training camp, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports. He also adds that general manager Daniel Brière remains unwilling to loan the 22-year-old back to Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he’s played for most of the past four seasons. Kolosov, a third-round pick of the Flyers in 2021, has two years left on his entry-level contract with Philadelphia. He’s been in dispute with the club about where to play this season since at least May, when reports emerged he had trouble adjusting to the North American environment after ending the 2023-24 campaign with a pair of appearances for Philly’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that he’s confident the Devils’ pending agreement with RFA forward Dawson Mercer will be a short-term one. With just under $5MM in projected cap space (PuckPedia), he doesn’t think the Devils would be able to fit a long-term deal with Mercer under the cap this season without a significant preseason corresponding transaction. Mercer remains unsigned with less than two weeks to go until training camp, but general manager Tom Fitzgerald said last month that a resolution wasn’t too far off.

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