The Philadelphia Flyers, especially after the additions to the pool made at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft (presumably as insurance for the potential/eventual criminal charges filed against longtime starter Carter Hart), have quite an expansive goaltending prospect pool with some promising names in the bunch. The most prominent one was added in 2021, via a third round selection of one of the most touted names at his position in his class. Alexei Kolosov, a native of Belarus, has already had quite the KHL career before even hitting age 23. Now that his season has ended and he is already under contract with the Flyers, the clock appears ticking for him to join up with the organization. Just how good is this Belarusian wunderkind? Will he be the franchise goaltender this club has been looking for that they have real, lasting fortune with for what can only be described as decades?

Kolosov was born in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on January 4th, 2002. For as long as he has been on skates, he has been associated with Dinamo Minsk’s organization, being a product of their youth academy. In his teen years in the Belarusian developmental system, he could be consistently relied upon for a sub-2.00 GAA or just barely above the border line more or less every season. His 2017-18 campaign with Team Belarus U17 in the second-tier developmental league Vysshaya was particularly noteworthy as an “invincible” season, as he went 10-0-0 with a 1.97 GAA. He would taste professional ice hockey for the first time in the 2020-21 season, with Dinamo-Molodechno in Belarus’ Extraleague. He would make 12 appearances, with a record of 6-6-0, a 2.23 GAA, a .915 SV%, and 1 shutout. The beneficiary of COVID-19 related travel restrictions impacting availability, he would also make his debut in the KHL with Dinamo Minsk’s big club. He would play in 9 games, going 3-5-1, with a .911 SV% and 2.69 GAA and 1 clean sheet to his name as he played a small role in the team earning its first Gagarin Cup playoff berth since 2017. For his efforts, particularly when called up to the top level in the former Eastern Bloc, he was the second-ranked European goaltender in the incumbent NHL Entry Draft class behind only Swede Jesper Wallstedt. Philadelphia/then-GM Chuck Fletcher would select him at 78th overall as an overager, the third netminder taken after Sebastian Cossa (Detroit) at 15th and Wallstedt (Minnesota) at 20th.

As part of a tandem with Patrik Rybár, Kolosov would make 22 appearances in 2021-22, with an 11-9-1 record and a 2.90 GAA and a SV% of .906. Minsk would again qualify for the postseason, marking the first time since ’11-12 that the club had qualified in consecutive seasons. In 2022-23, they would clinch yet again, marking the first time in the club’s time in the KHL (having joined in 2008 after having spent their first five seasons in the Belarusian Extraleague) that they had qualified in three consecutive years. Kolosov’s record was not the most appealing to the eyes, as the team struggled yet again as has been the standard even in their better years/despite clawing their way in, going 13-21-5, but he had a .912 SV% and a 2.55 GAA to his name – Very good numbers considering his age and the team’s weakness.

A new regime took over in Philadelphia that season, as Chuck Fletcher was terminated after the trade deadline and initially replaced on an interim basis by alumnus Danny Brière before his eventual elevation to permanent hire at the GM post. An order of business just one week into the new league year was to sign Kolosov to an ELC. He would spend the 2023-24 season on loan with Minsk, where he was nothing short of remarkable. He posted 4 shutouts and a 2.39 GAA and a SV% of .907, as he went 22-21-3. A team that would otherwise be middling was a threat to the league’s best team in the regular season, as he effectively stole two games against Dynamo Moscow in round one. His first victory saw him stop 34/35 in a 3-1 win over an absurdly powerful offense which includes weapons such as Nikita Gusev (who set the KHL record for single season points this year), fourth-place scorer Jordan Weal, and fifteenth-place scorer Eric O’Dell, therefore posting a .971 SV% on a high shot volume against vs. a very dangerous group. His second victory was one for the history books, as he saved 43/44 SOGs in a 2-1 2OT victory. This included 13 saves in the first overtime period alone (posting another one in the 2nd extra frame) to extend their season by just one more game. While he was ultimately unable to backstop the team to a remarkable upset and their first ever Gagarin Cup playoff series victory, this marked the second year in a row where Minsk procured multiple victories against and provided something of a challenge for that year’s respective Continental Cup winner (Kolosov captured one of the team’s two victories against SKA Saint Petersburg in 2023), with the last time prior to these past two seasons that they were able to win more than one playoff game being in 2011 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, seven game series). All told, Kolosov posted a .925 SV% against the best team in the KHL in this series, with two of the best goaltending performances across the league this whole season to his name in the process.

Ultimately, irrespective of whether or not he joins up with the Philadelphia organization this season or next, Kolosov’s time with the franchise he has known his whole life is coming to an end. This chapter of his career ends with a huge mark on the team’s record books. Per Alexander Appleyard at PHLY Sports, Kolosov has the following to his name:

– 120 games played (second-most during the club’s time in the KHL)

– 49 wins (most in Dinamo Minsk history)

– 6 shutouts (sixth-most in team history)

– .909 SV% (fifth-best in team history)

All of this is coming just a couple of months after his 22nd birthday. To further break down his statistical profile, his Byron Bader card currently places his odds at having a “solid” NHL career (playing a minimum of 200 games) at 82%. Some of his comps in similar goalie developmental profiles (in terms of statistical output) at this stage that are quite impressive include Nikolai Khabibulin, Roberto Luongo, and, most impressively, Patrick Roy. The odds he plays up to either of the latter two standards in the NHL seem slim. However, his talent is incredibly visible and it will translate into a good career at the best level.

On that subject, we have not spent any time talking about the playing style behind the numbers, and we should change that. Kolosov was lauded in scouting reports for his fluidity and quickness on his skates and ability to move post-to-post going into 2021’s draft. He possesses exceptional athleticism, dexterity, and movement skills akin to other goaltenders from his part of the world such as Russians Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, Igor Shesterkin or Finn Juuse Saros. Some of his unorthodox tendencies may also bring up images of the likes of Dominik Hasek and Roman Cechmanek for historical comparisons, as well as Pyotr Kochetkov for a contemporary one. His skills are clearly that of someone who is going to have that of an NHL career that is impactful. Whether his North American professional career begins in a week or next season, Kolosov will be starting a path to becoming, at minimum, a reliable NHL starter.