Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
Alexei Kolosov is an athletic goaltender. He moved post to post well yesterday in his first stint back with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He made tough save after tough save, and Kolosov also made some nice breakaway saves. However, his most important attribute was recovery. Kolosov recovers quickly and assertively when he is down, ready to make the next save if need be.
Kolosov killed it, in the 4-2 pre-season victory over their arch rivals in the Hershey Bears. He made 20 saves to propel the Phantoms to victory, but it was how it was done that was impressive. Split saves…no problem…breakaways…no problem.
“I am very honored to be part of the Flyers organization and am happy to be here at training camp,” Kolosov said last week. “I look forward to the opportunity to play alongside my teammates and help the team win.”
If he plays well with the Phantoms and current Flyers backup netminder Ivan Fedotov struggles, then I would not be surprised if Kolosov gets recalled to the big club.
The drama or standoff between he and the Flyers is a thing of the past. Kolosov just had continue to excel, and remain patient. Just prove to the Flyers top brass he wants to be with organization. After watching the pre-season game last night, it’s easy to see why the orange and black are high on him.
He played well last season for the Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. Kolosov stands at 6’1 and weighs 187 pounds. He played in arguably the second toughest league in the world, as he moves laterally post to post well. Kolosov even suited up in two games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, but was apparently homesick or he just didn’t want to play for the team. Kolosov, obviously failed to report for Rookie and Training Camps alike, but he is finally in Philly.
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The stalemate is over, and kudos to Flyers’ General Manager Danny Briere for not caving in. This bodes well for the organization, as it does not set the rebuild back. Associate Head Coach Daryl Williams had this to say about Kolosov last week, “I thought he played very well, saw the puck well.”
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