Does Aleksei Kolosov Deserve Backup Goalie Job With Flyers?
John Tortorella has officially named Aleksei Kolosov the backup goaltender of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sam Ersson has returned to the lineup from a lower-body injury, and Ivan Fedotov will remain on the active NHL roster. The decision to carry three goalies is uncommon in the NHL.
Danny Briere spoke on the first day of training camp with no certainty that Kolosov would play in North America in 2024-25. The 22-year-old netminder has now jumped a goalie who signed a sizable NHL contract on the organization’s depth chart.
How did Kolosov and the Flyers land in this situation?
Aleksei Kolosov
Fedotov struggled in his first three starts of the season. The Flyers used an itchy trigger finger to call up Kolosov, and both former KHL goaltenders quickly ended up in tandem while Ersson was unavailable for most of November.
Kolosov has earned the head coach’s trust in the crease despite the expected struggles of a rookie backup goalie transitioning from an extremely different style of play in Russia.
His .889 save percentage (SV%) and 3.05 goal against average (GAA) rank below the league median this season. They’re marginally above Fedotov’s numbers (.877 SV%, 3.48 GAA) and marginally below Ersson’s (.893 SV%, 2.85 GAA).
Kolosov is the only Flyers goaltender with a positive value in goals saved above expected, commonly considered the most comprehensive advanced goaltending stat. He’s allowed 29 goals of an expected 30.3 while Fedotov has posted a -3.5 rating. Ersson sits at -4.0 with plenty of runway to regain his form.
Jason Myrtetus spoke during the Flyers intermission report on 97.5 The Fanatic about Kolosov’s technique. Myrtetus pointed out stylistic similarities to reigning Stanley Cup champion Sergei Bobrovsky.
Both goalies use the double seal to cover each post when opponents control the puck behind the net. They both use an active stick to disrupt passing lanes near the crease and show similar footwork moving side to side.
“They move the same. They try and employ a lot of the same tactics. The edgework and the skating all looks very similar. Bobrovsky’s an incredible competitor, and from what I understand, Kolosov is as well. To get to that level is going to take some work, but it looks like there’s a foundation of that game there.” -Jason Myrtetus
Kolosov impressed the Flyers in a road victory against the St. Louis Blues on November 30. He saved 25 of the 27 shots he faced and pulled the contest into overtime where Matvei Michkov finished off the victory.
Michkov handed the team’s belt for the player of the game to his goaltender. Both rookies speak primarily Russian although Kolosov is from the neighboring country of Belarus.
The positive elements of his performance are there, but underwhelming numbers and signs of a raw goalie in need of development don’t typically push a 22-year-old through an organizational depth chart.
An Unexpected Jump On The Depth Chart
How did things come together so quickly? The decision to name Aleksei Kolosov the backup goalie isn’t independent of outside circumstances.
The rookie has shown the need for seasoning. His quick improvement in 10 NHL starts reflects well on goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh, but Fedotov has also made progress in similarly limited NHL action during the same stretch.
Since Kolosov’s initial call-up to the NHL on October 26, Fedotov has a better save percentage and goals against average than his rookie teammate.
Tortorella indicated his preference for Kolosov with a quick hook on Fedotov after he allowed two goals in the first period against the Florida Panthers on December 5.
Is the organization’s pecking order determined so simply as choosing which goaltenders Tortorella trusts over a short stretch of games? It wasn’t two years ago after Ersson made his NHL debut.
Carter Hart missed a stretch from December 2022-January 2023. Ersson outplayed Philadelphia’s previous NHL backup goalie Felix Sandstrom before Hart returned.
Tortorella essentially admitted Ersson was his preference to sit behind Hart, but Sandstrom stayed on the NHL roster when the starter returned largely because he would’ve had to clear waivers before a reassignment to the AHL.
“It’s part of the business. And it’s not just waivers, (Ersson) needs to get some minutes… (The AHL is) a great league, goaltender right on through, as far as getting minutes. It’s part of the process for him.” –John Tortorella
Ersson was three months older than Kolosov is now when Tortorella advocated for more AHL experience. The young Swede had appeared in seven NHL games at the time of the demotion. Kolosov had appeared in nine when Tortorella announced the decision.
Flyers Culture
Wouldn’t Kolosov be better off developing in the AHL as a number one goalie in 2024-25 by the same logic while a 28-year-old goalie Briere signed to a considerable NHL contract plays behind Ersson?
Briere said himself that the struggle to bring Kolosov to North America had to do with the inexperienced prospect’s desire for a guaranteed spot in the NHL. When he finally did join the Flyers in camp, the possibility arose that any disagreements could ultimately persuade him to return overseas.
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Tortorella has advocated against any sense of entitlement during his tenure. He wrapped up his first season in 2022-23 with bold criticism of the organization’s practices when he arrived in Philadelphia.
“In my mind, it’s just having the organization run in a professional manner. I think there was a ton of entitlement hanging around our locker room where really, quite honestly, you didn’t deserve that entitlement. You didn’t deserve that stature.” -John Tortorella on The Best Show Ever
Reports also surfaced after the Flyers traded Cutter Gauthier in January that the star prospect disagreed with the organization about his expectations of a guaranteed NHL roster spot.
The Flyers have emphasized culture and a standard for performance on and off the ice as a major focus of their rebuild. They certainly don’t want a prospect with no NHL experience telling them what team he’ll play for.
Flyers Have A New Backup Goalie
Ultimately, the Flyers chose a player Tortorella likes for their NHL roster. The veteran head coach has spoken positively about Kolosov, and he showed his confidence by playing him in relief of Fedotov just over a week ago.
It’s impossible to tell if the Flyers would’ve decided on their backup goaltender differently without the lingering question of whether Kolosov would leave the United States because of a demotion to the AHL.
However, the Flyers have deviated from the precedent they set with Sam Ersson’s track to the NHL two years ago.
Their investment in Fedotov with a two-year, $6.5 million contract during the offseason doesn’t align with a plan to push him down the depth chart after such a small sample size in which he’s already shown solid improvement.
If they demote Fedotov to the AHL in the coming weeks, they risk losing him on waivers altogether.
The decision to keep Aleksei Kolosov as the backup goalie isn’t immediately detrimental to the Flyers. However, the threat of a return overseas undeniably played a significant factor in the organization’s thought process.
