Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov reportedly may return to the KHL after a brief appearance in North America last month (per Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now). Bailey cites a report from Belarus Hockey correspondent Stepan Voronkov who writes that Kolosov had problems adapting to North America and wants to return home to Russia.
If the report is accurate, it would effectively take the Flyers’ top goaltending prospect out of their pipeline for the foreseeable future as most of the netminders in their system are a long way from being ready for the NHL. While Kolosov returning to Russia would be damaging to the Flyers farm system, the report from Voronkov hasn’t been confirmed by any of the parties involved.
Further adding to the conflicting reports is Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia who writes that the Flyers haven’t been made aware of any news surrounding Alexei Kolosov going back to KHL and adds that some of the parties involved believe it could be a case of Kolosov being homesick.
The 22-year-old was drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2021 NHL entry draft (78th overall), and his arrival in North America created a bit of buzz especially given the messiness of the Flyers’ goaltending situation. However, the ending of the season was underwhelming as Kolosov played just two games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. His numbers in the small sample size were rather pedestrian as he went 1-1-0, with a 3.03 GAA, and a .885 save percentage.