Flyers goalie prospect Aleksei Kolosov named AHL Player of the Week

Oh, what a difference a year can make.

Need proof? Look no further than Flyers prospect Aleksei Kolosov.

A year after a season marred by underwhelming play and off-ice drama, the Lehigh Phantoms goaltender has bounced back beyond belief, culminating in him winning the American Hockey League’s Player of the Week award this week. Kolosov went 2-0-0 with a 0.50 goals against average and a .984 save percentage for the Phantoms. He stopped 60 of the 61 shots he faced over the two games, including posting a 30-save shutout of Hershey on New Year’s Eve.

“He is a different player, different personality. He’s really trying to fit in,” Flyers assistant general manager and scouting head Brent Flahr told The Inquirer last month of Kolosov. “He’s very athletic, very competitive, and he’s giving our team a chance to win down there almost every night. He’s a talented kid, so he’s got a chance to be an NHL goalie now. He just skipped a step last year. Now he’s building it back up again here, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Kolosov’s award is the biggest highlight in an impressive season for the 24-year-old netminder. He is now 9-8-1 with a .910 save percentage in 18 AHL games. The Belarusian also looked more comfortable in the NHL than he was last season, stopping 26 of 28 shots (.929 save percentage) over two games in November while Sam Ersson was injured.

This all comes after an offseason where many speculated that Kolosov and the Flyers would part ways. Kolosov famously tried to force a loan move back to his native Belarus before last season and later reported to training camp late. There were reports that he felt isolated and was frustrated with the Flyers’ goaltending hierarchy.

“I think on [Kolosov’s] end, it’s more about he wants to be guaranteed a spot in the NHL. If not, he prefers to stay over there, and that’s not the way we see it,” Flyers general manager Brière said in September of 2024.

» READ MORE: Flyers Q&A: Brent Flahr dishes on prospects Porter Martone, Jett Luchanko, and more

“We agreed last year to loan him back [to the KHL] for one year because he wanted to stay home. But at some point, you signed a contract, and we want him here. We want him to start integrating himself with the game the way it’s played here in North America, the smaller ice, and learning the language and all of that. And I guess he doesn’t see it that way at the moment.”

Things didn’t improve during the season as the Flyers inexplicably carried three goalies for large stretches, in part seemingly to accommodate Kolosov, who didn’t want to be in the AHL. The on-ice results weren’t good either, as Kolosov posted a 3.11 goals against average and .884 save percentage in 12 minor league games, and 3.59 and .867 splits in 17 games with the Flyers. During a stretch last January, Kolosov remained up with the Flyers despite not playing in a game for 20 days.

When asked for an update last March, Brière told The Inquirer that the situation was “not ideal, but I’ll leave it at that.”

But despite expectations that the Flyers would trade the disgruntled goalie or terminate his contract and free him to return to Europe, Kolosov remained a Flyer throughout the summer and was present on the first day of training camp. He’s won back even more good faith since then.

Might it mean a recall to the NHL is imminent?

When asked on Monday if Kolosov could unseat the struggling Ersson (.868) for the backup role, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said this:

“I think organizationally, the internal competition is huge. There’s guys in the minors, they’re pushing, right? They’re trying to get up. It’s a domino effect, right? So yeah, he’s just challenging the goaltending situation, he’s come into camp really focused, and just from the reports down there, he’s stringing a bunch of good games together, not one good game, one bad, like he’s stacking good games together, and that’s a sign of maturity, and that internal competition helps the organization.”

Kolosov’s turnaround is just one of several promising developments when it comes to the Flyers’ goaltending situation. Free-agent signing Dan Vladař has looked every bit of a No. 1 goaltender through 24 starts with a .910 save percentage, while 2023 draft picks Carson Bjarnason, who has a .912 save percentage as Kolosov’s partner in Lehigh Valley, and Egor Zavragin (.919 SV% in Kontinental Hockey League) continue to come along nicely.

Could the Flyers’ goalie curse finally be over? Well, it might be a little early to go that far just yet.

» READ MORE: Inside Flyers goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason’s meticulous approach to training both his body and mind