Philadelphia Flyers recall Alexei Kolosov from AHL

Credit: Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Aleksei Kolosov

The Philadelphia Flyers have officially recalled goaltender Alexei Kolosov from their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as first reported by Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco.

Among other looming decisions as @frank_seravalli wrote about earlier, it sounds like there is a real chance that Alexei Kolosov will start for the #Flyers on Sunday.@DailyFaceoff

— Anthony Di Marco (@ADiMarco25) October 25, 2024

According to Di Marco, the expectation is that Kolosov will start Sunday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, although nothing is confirmed at this time. There is also no word as to which of Samuel Ersson or Ivan Fedotov will be out of the lineup, or if one of the two goalies will be sent to the AHL.

The decision comes amidst major goaltending struggles for the Flyers, with the hopes that Kolosov can be a potential solution to the problem. After Saturday’s 7-5 win over the Minnesota Wild, the Flyers rank last in the NHL in save percentage at 84.35%. Both Ersson and Fedotov rank in the bottom 10 for save% among goalies with 3 starts this season, with Ersson’s .872% the ninth-worst while Fedotov’s .821% is second-worst only to Alexandar Georgiev. Ersson also has the ninth-worst goals saved above expected with -3.4, while Fedotov has the seventh-worst with -3.74.

Kolosov had played 4 games in the AHL with the Phantoms before his promotion, with a 1-2-1 record and an .875% in that span. He’s coming off of a 2023-24 season spent primarily in the KHL with Minsk Dynamo, where he had a 22-21-3 record, a .907% save% and 4 shutouts in 47 games.

Kolosov was a third-round pick for the Flyers in the 2021 NHL Draft out of the KHL, and after three more seasons in Russia with Minsk Dynamo, he made his North American pro debut in 2024, where he played two games with the Phantoms.

Kolosov is currently in the second year of his three-year entry-level contract with a $925,000 cap hit, which he signed with the Flyers prior to the 2023-24 season.

The Flyers will hope that Kolosov can stabilize their goaltending issues when they host the Canadiens on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST. Philadelphia currently sits in last in the Metropolitan Division with a 2-5-1 record, which is also the third-worst record in the league.