On Tuesday morning local time, KHL club HC Dinamo Minsk announced that Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov would officially be departing the club in order to join up with the Flyers organization.
A source familiar with the situation previously indicated to Philly Hockey Now that this was likely once Kolosov’s season ended.
Kolosov, 22, signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $2.775 million with the Flyers back on July 8 before subsequently being returned on loan to Minsk nine days later.
It is worth noting that because Kolosov was age 20 or older when he signed his contract with the Flyers, he is not eligible for an “entry-level slide”. This means that one year will be burned off of his ELC at the end of the season, regardless of whether he plays games for the Flyers this season or not.
Kolosov spent each of the last four seasons playing in the KHL for Minsk, accruing a record of 49-56-10 with a .909 save percentage. The 22-year-old posted slightly better numbers in the postseason, going 3-8-0 with a .913 save percentage.
This season, Kolosov appeared in 47 games for Minsk, going 22-21-3 with a career-best 2.39 GAA to go with a .907 save percentage. Without the Flyers prospect, Minsk’s record was just 4-10-0.
When he arrives in North America, Kolosov will likely head to the AHL rather than join up with the Flyers at the NHL level. If the Flyers do assign Kolosov to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he will have to remain there for the rest of the season unless recalled on an emergency basis.
The Flyers have already used all four of their allotted post-trade deadline recalls, which means they can only recall players from Lehigh Valley on an emergency basis. By extension, Felix Sandstrom would remain the team’s backup for the remainder of the season while Kolosov splits reps in the AHL with Cal Petersen an ECHL journeyman Parker Gahagen.
The Flyers have not confirmed Kolosov’s arrival yet.
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