In Friday’s edition of Bailey’s Daily, we’ll be talking the latest Philadelphia Flyers news, NHL news, stories, highlights, and more from the last day.

Flyers News

According to a report from Belarus Hockey, top Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov could bolt for the KHL to return to Dinamo Minsk in his home country of Belarus after just two AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The report alleges that Kolosov is not adapting to life in North America very well. It’s hard to do that when Russian speakers (similar language to Belarusian, but not identical) like Ivan Fedotov and Egor Zamula are in Philadelphia, not Allentown.

Speaking of Flyers prospects in the KHL, Egor Zavragin will be making his KHL debut this season. MatchTV recently asked him how he felt about being considered one of the best goalies of his generation, but Zavragin didn’t care. He’s focused on improving himself and winning hockey games only.

In other Flyers news, London Knights stars Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk won the OHL championship, sweeping the Oshawa Generals in four games to claim the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Their next stop is the Memorial Cup, where they’ll meet up with fellow Flyers prospect Alexis Gendron, a top winger on the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs.

The 2024 NHL Draft is about five weeks away, and the mock drafts seem to be in harmony with the Flyers selecting defenseman Carter Yakemchuk. Yakemchuk is a great player without a doubt, but if one of the draft’s best forwards is available, the Flyers cannot afford to make a luxury pick so early into their rebuild.

NHL News from National Hockey Now

New Jersey Devils rookie defenseman and rookie star Simon Nemec broke an 89-year-old international ice hockey record on Friday. Having just turned 20 years old in February, Nemec has now appeared in his 22nd game in the IIHF Men’s World Championships as a U20 player, breaking Ferdinand Cattini’s previous record of 21 set way back in 1935. That record was 47 years older than the Devils, who moved to New Jersey in 1982.

It’s official: the Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be picking until 44th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft after the Carolina Hurricanes were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That pick originally belonged to the Flyers, though, and the Orange and Black’s late season collapse has now helped one of their most hated rivals in the Pens.

According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the San Jose Sharks are considering former Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill for their head coaching vacancy. Blashill, 50, has been an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the past two seasons and previously ran the bench for Detroit from 2015 to 2022.

After sitting out Game 5 with an injury, Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand offered his first comment since seemingly getting sucker-punched by Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 4. “I think he got away with one,” Marchand assessed.