Flyers rookie camp opened, Alexei Kolosov wasn't there, and at this rate, he won't be there for training camp later this week either.
The goaltending prospect's entry-level contract with the organization is still valid – for now – and general manager Danny Brière said they're still clinging on to some hope that he changes his mind and comes back over from Belarus.
But whether he actually will, it's a mystery anymore.
"It is what it is. We have to move on," Brière told the media during his pre-camp press conference at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Tuesday morning. "We hoped that he would want to compete for a job. When you look at the way we're built right now, there's an opportunity there for him. The way we saw it is probably start in the American League, and most teams around the league use their third goalie or fourth goalie, so he'd be in a competition with the guys that we have to play some games this year."
The Flyers' goaltending plan going into this coming season was to have Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov as the main NHL duo, with the 22-year old Kolosov getting minutes and developing down in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms below, while only being a call-up away for big league time.
Last season, Ersson played well enough to justify a greater share of the starts before taking on nearly all of them after Carter Hart left to face a sexual assault charge tied back to the 2018 Hockey Canada scandal.
Fedotov arrived late in the year from Russia to provide some relief, but got thrown straight into the fire from the second he got off the plane, receiving no grace period to adjust to a new league, team, and country before he was taking on breakaways from the likes of the Islanders' Mathew Barzal. He did as well as anyone could have in that situation, but his skill and 6'7" frame were enough for the Flyers to keep the 27-year old around as at least a backup for the next two years to see what he can do with more time to adjust.
Kolosov arrived in from Belarus around the same time as Fedotov, but was handled more cautiously with his North American shift after a full season of play with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. He was sent to the AHL and only played a couple of games for Lehigh Valley, but with the intention to have him be the Phantoms' No. 1 after a full season to train and prepare.
At some point, however, something went awry.
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Kolosov went back home to Belarus for the summer with rumors spinning that he was homesick and might not return. Throughout, the Flyers maintained that he was under contract and expected him to be in camp by September, but the rumors never went anywhere, he didn't come back, and time pretty much ran out.
"I think on his end, it's more about he wants to be guaranteed a spot in the NHL," Brière said. "If not, he prefers to stay over there, and that's not the way we see it. 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 sign a contract and we want him here. We want him to start integrating himself, to the game the way it's played here in North America, with the smaller ice, and learning the language and all of that. I guess he doesn't see it that way at the moment."
Brière continued to explain that the Flyers had little indication that there was something wrong with Kolosov while he was in Allentown.
He reasoned with the idea that things might've been different had the organization added a teammate to the Phantoms who could speak Kolosov's language, but stressed that it wasn't like the minor-league team didn't take any effort to make him feel welcome.
Brière cited veteran Phantoms leaders Garrett Wilson and Louie Belpedio as two players who tried to help Kolosov fit in, encouraging him to go to team dinners while reporting that he was generally great around the rink while he was there, which was a sentiment that was also claimed by Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière a day earlier during rookie camp.
Brière didn't want to put any of the blame for Kolosov's situation on Laperrière, the Phantoms' staff, or the players.
He had some really good people to work with around him," Brière said. "I get it, he might be homesick, but that's the life of a professional hockey player. You gotta adapt, and if you want to play hockey, that's just how it is."
Brière reinforced that the Flyers have no interest in loaning Kolosov back to the KHL for another season, but he isn't sure what happens from here, or if Kolosov still might have any interest in coming over at any point down the line at all.
Immediately, the Flyers' goaltending depth shakes out as Ersson and Fedotov on the NHL roster, then Cal Petersen, Eetu Makiniemi, and Sam Hillebrandt as the AHL options.
There's also the elephant in the room that Kolosov represents the second notable Flyers prospect within a year to have a known rift with the organization – all following former first-round pick Cutter Gauthier's falling out with the Flyers behind the scenes that eventually led to his trade to Anaheim in January.
Brière seemed to understand how that looks, but to that end, said the following:
"We're always looking at ourselves to see how we can do better," the second-year GM said. "But don't forget, we're talking about two guys from the outside. When I look at the culture that we're building here on the inside, the players that are in on the inside, they want to be here.
"They realize how fortunate we are as a Flyers organization – I include myself in that. I'm fortunate to be working for this organization. They give you everything you want and everything to succeed. So I'm more worried about the people on the inside than the people on the outside, and once usually they come in, they really realize how good we have it. So, I think it's, it's a great missed opportunity for him."
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