Nearly everyone wrote Aleksei Kolosov off after a season that was disastrous for all Philadelphia Flyers goalies, but he's just firmly put himself back on the prospect radar.
Kolosov, 23, was never going to make the Flyers' NHL roster outright this season after Philadelphia went out and signed veteran Dan Vladar to a two-year deal this summer, but the fact that Kolosov returned to the organization at all shows a renewed commitment to the goal of becoming a full-time NHLer.
That said, through two AHL games, the Belarusian has backed it up with his play.
On Friday night, playing for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms against Ivan Fedotov and the Cleveland Monsters, Kolosov posted a remarkable 35-save shutout – his first as a member of the Flyers organization and first on North American soil.
For those curious, this was Kolosov's first professional shutout since Feb. 4, 2024, when the 23-year-old made 23 saves for Dinamo Minsk in a 4-0 win over Admiral Vladivostok in the KHL.
Last weekend, on Oct. 11, Kolosov earned his first win of the season for the Baby Flyers, stopping 27 of 29 (.931%) in a 5-2 thrashing of the Belleville Senators.
Overall, the forgotten Flyers goalie prospect is quietly 2-0-0 on the year with a 1.00 GAA and .969 save percentage after the shutout over Fedotov and Co., stopping 62 of the first 64 shots he's faced this year.
Again, the Flyers still have Vladar and Sam Ersson, but Kolosov, like Ersson, is in a contract year.
If, for example, Ersson can't take the next step, and Kolosov even remotely maintains this level of play throughout the season, what do the Flyers do then?
As it always has been, the talent is there with Kolosov, and the next step is a matter of consistency.
Clearly, he's the Phantoms' starter over first-year pro Carson Bjarnason, and the Flyers won't be seeing Egor Zavragin for a little while longer yet.
Don't count Kolosov out just yet.
