Aleksei Kolosov Must Change Attitude Towards NHL, Legendary Coach Says

The Flyers haven't given up on Aleksei Kolosov just yet. (Photo: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers haven't fully given up on Aleksei Kolosov yet, but has Aleksei Kolosov given up on the Flyers?

This is the seemingly age-old question that will be answered this summer, for better or for worse.

The enigmatic Belarusian goalie prospect is expected to return to the Flyers for training camp, especially now that his local KHL club, Dinamo Minsk, has made two high-profile, high-cost commitments to goalkeepers Zach Fucale and Vasily Demchenko.

Simply put, if Kolosov only wants to play for the Belarusian club and not any other KHL teams, he's out of luck.

Whether or not the 23-year-old wants to or is willing to play in the AHL has been a point of contention, and one that has made waves back home, too.

Legendary Belarus head coach Mikhail Zakharov, for whom Kolosov has played, believes the talented Flyers goalie needs to change his mindset in order to find success abroad in North America.

"I also have great hopes for Kolosov, he needs to reconsider his attitude towards the NHL," Zakharov told Legalbet.by when discussing a recent trend of Belarusian goalies getting drafted, including recent NHL draft selections Arseny Radkov and Evgeniy Prokhorov. "Philadelphia is a team where he can become the main goalkeeper."

And Kolosov, was, as Zakharov noted, the Flyers' main goalie for a short period of time. Six of Kolosov's 13 NHL starts last season came between Oct. 27 and Nov. 30, but a disastrous December saw the youngster stapled to the press box or stuck in the AHL for extended periods of time.

A hot start quickly faded, and the former third-round pick ultimately finished the year with a .867 save percentage in 17 NHL games and a .884 save percentage in 12 AHL games.

Russian counterpart Ivan Fedotov wasn't much better in his NHL games, but that led to the Flyers signing Dan Vladar Tuesday, effectively closing the door on both Fedotov and Kolosov for the big leagues this upcoming season, barring an injury.

Plus, playing so few games and going up and down between leagues won't help Kolosov improve and adjust to the North American game.

It certainly didn't help that he wasn't available for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during their Calder Cup run, especially after Parker Gahagen went down with an injury and Cal Petersen self-immolated in Game 4 against Hershey.

If Kolosov is to salvage his NHL career, he'll have to heed Zakharov's advice, starting with the upcoming training camp in a few months.