VOORHEES, N.J. – While much has been made of Flyers goaltender Alexei Kolosov’s brief flirtation with playing one more season with his hockey team in Belarus, the players here really don’t care about that now that he’s back in Philadelphia.
The Flyers’ third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft had stated he only wanted to come over here if he was slated to play in the NHL. In turn, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere had said he wasn’t going to make any guarantees.
Eventually, Kolosov had a change of heart and made a return trip to Flyers training camp.
Kolosov, who signed a contract with the Flyers in July, 2023, was scheduled to play at least part of Monday night’s preseason game at the New York Islanders.
The Flyers already have their two starting goaltenders, Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov. But adding Kolosov to the organization provides a little more depth and a team can never have too much of that.
Plus, having another Russian-speaking player around adds to a fraternity which includes the much-touted Matvei Michkov, Fedotov and defenseman Egor Zamula. That should only make these young gentlemen feel a little more at home.
“It’s very cool, it’s so much easier,” said Zamula after Monday morning’s skate at the Flyers Training Center. “You feel like you’re at home. You’re eating Russian food, watching movies together, hang out, playing ping-pong. It’s more fun, too, because when you talk to Canadian and U.S. guys, they learn something in Russian.
“I’m trying to help Matvei learn English, too, so it’s fun. When a U.S. or Canadian guy stands up in the locker room and starts speaking Russian, it’s fun. We say ‘how are you?’ in Russian, they try to answer in Russian.”
Kolosov looks forward to playing in an NHL game Monday night.
“I am very honored to be part of the Flyers organization,” he told Flyers officials. “I am happy to be here at training camp. I look forward to the opportunity to play alongside my teammates and help the team win.”
Kolosov has already been through a couple practices with the Flyers in this camp. He’s not exactly a stranger to North American hockey because he played a pair of games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the tail end of last season.
Flyers alternate captain Scott Laughton looks forward to working with Kolosov.
“We’re trying to welcome him in with open arms,” Laughton said. “And see what he’s all about. I think you’ve got to give him a chance. See how he plays, how he handles all the situations.
“He looked good out there today. That was my first time on the ice with him, first time shooting on him. I honestly think it’s huge to have ‘Z’ (Zamula) here. He’s been kind of the jack of all trades. I think he needs a little bit of a raise. He’s done a really good job of kind of bringing in the guys and helping them out.”
Joel Farabee is one of those who really doesn’t care about the outside stuff surrounding the goalie. He’s more interested in his skill set and how that plays out this season.
“As players, the business side (of the game) is not really our job,” Farabee said. “We focus on what we can control. It’s great that we got him over here. We want him over here, we want him playing for us. If he gets in, we’ll see what he can do.”
Assistant coach Darryl Williams, who was scheduled to run the bench on Monday night, said the Flyers have a team which is focused on the game itself.
“It’s kind of business with our team,” he said. “When we show up, it’s business – they have a lot of fun. They really seem to enjoy each other. They enjoy each other.
“But when we come through the door, it’s business. They’re just worried about how the performance is going to be and how we’re going to move forward.”
Fedotov will start the game against the Islanders but Kolosov will see some action.
