The Flyers announced Sunday that they signed goaltending prospect Aleksei Kolosov to his three-year entry-level contract.
The 21-year-old from Belarus was drafted by the Flyers in 2021 during the third round. He was the second-ranked European goalie by NHL Central Scouting in that draft and ended up being the third goaltender taken off the board at 78th overall. Sebastian Cossa (15th overall to the Red Wings) and Jesper Wallstedt (20th overall to the Wild) went ahead of him.
Last season, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Kolosov went 13-21-5 with a 2.55 goals-against average and .912 save percentage through 42 games for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL, Russia's top pro league.
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Kolosov's European agent Aljosa Pilko wrote on Twitter that the netminder will play in the KHL this season.
Before the 2021 draft, Flyers director of European scouting Joakim Grundberg and amateur scout Ken Hoodikoff identified Kolosov early in Minsk and the club's staff stayed on him.
"They were really high on his athleticism," Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said in July 2021. "He got to play a lot in the KHL as a young goalie, which is a rarity — and not only play, but play well and saw a lot of shots in tough situations. He's a talented guy, very athletic and a guy our goalie guys are confident they can mold into an NHL goalie. In the third round, it was certainly a pick that we were hoping to get him there and it worked out."
The Flyers like the potential in what they have organizationally behind 24-year-old Carter Hart. Kolosov and 23-year-old Samuel Ersson headline the group. The club also drafted goalies Carson Bjarnason in the second round last month Egor Zavragin in the third.
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"It's pretty exciting what's going on and what's coming up," Flyers general manager Danny Briere said before the draft. "Not just with the Flyers, but the farm system, too. We have some good goalies coming up, guys that could turn out to be high end.
"I don't think in the past that has always been a strength of the Flyers, so it's exciting knowing that we have some prospects that could develop into really high-end goaltenders."
The Flyers still have the NHL rights to goalie Ivan Fedotov. Pursuant to the CBA, his one-year entry-level contract was tolled last month and would remain in effect for 2023-24. However, it looks like Fedotov will be staying in Russia with the KHL's CSKA Moscow after signing a two-year deal.
The 26-year-old did not play hockey last season because of required service to the Russian military. At this point, it's uncertain if he'll ever play in North America.
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