Which NHL Free Agents Can Help Flyers Acclimate Alexei Kolosov?

Finding a friend for top goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov was atop the Philadelphia Flyers’ offseason to-do list, and with now only weeks separating the NHL offseason from training camp and the start of preseason, it’s still something the team hasn’t addressed.

Granted, it’s rare for European players, and especially Belarusian and Russian players, to be free agents available to be signed this late in the offseason. Most have been retained, signed elsewhere, or left the NHL and AHL ranks to play abroad.

That alone makes this endeavor more challenging than usual for the Flyers.

Kolosov, if you’ll recall, has reportedly had a difficult transition to life in North America after his short AHL stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the end of last season. Kolosov did manage to play in two games for the Phantoms, though the Flyers currently cannot say one way or the other whether he’s coming back from Belarus.

The Flyers do, however, want to make extra sure this time around that they make the 22-year-old shot-stopper feel as comfortable as they possibly can and, as noted above, is likely to include finding a teammate who can speak his language, speaks English, and knows the North American style of hockey to some degree.

And that all being said, believe it or not, there actually are a few reasonable, logical options available for the Flyers to choose from.

As always, there are no guarantees, but the Flyers can first turn to a familiar face–one that they’ve come to know fairly well after watching some of his Flyers prospect teammates.