The ongoing saga of top Philadelphia Flyers goaltender prospect Alexei Kolosov is just a big shrug and saying “We’ll see” for the next couple of months. But we did get some recent reports that shine some light on some things.

Kolosov was a fairly decent KHL starter last season and then, having already been signed to an NHL contract last summer and then loaned back overseas, came to North America to just feel out the AHL before some summer training. He appeared in two total games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and we all thought everything would be fine.

At the end of the 2023-24 season, we assumed that Kolosov would then come back to North America and be the Phantoms’ designated starter so that the 22-year-old netminder can eventually develop into an NHL-caliber goaltender. But then, he didn’t show up for the Flyers’ development camp earlier this month and rumors started to swirl whether or not he is even going to be here for the 2024-25 season.

The situation was cited as a visa issue. Something to do with some paperwork that is above most of our heads, was the reason that was given to the public as to why Kolosov was not at development camp. That didn’t really give anyone a reason to worry about his status, but now on Tuesday, a miniscule report from Belarushockey.com has sent everyone into a frenzy.

According to the report, Kolosov has been seen training with his former KHL club, Dinamo Minsk, and has told the team to begin the process of terminating his NHL contract with the Flyers so he can continue his career overseas and at home. The 2021 third-round pick was also rumored to have not wanted to come back to North America for the 2024-25 season earlier this summer — so this is just another little stick on the pile of whispers and rumors and rumblings that this young netminder just simply does not want to play professional hockey on the other side of the globe.

And that’s where we’re at. Kolosov has not said anything and nothing has been made official by either team, but it sure seems like someone connected to the player is letting people know that he really does not want to play in the Flyers organization.

We shall see what happens and if he shows up to training camp. Right now, he still has an NHL contract and is obligated to be there.

How does this affect the Flyers? Well in the short term, they will need to find a new goalie for the AHL. In the long term, this really puts a damper on everything being fine in between the pipes. With Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov as the NHL tandem this season — a youngish tandem at that — and Kolosov over here developing and potentially making an NHL debut later this upcoming season; and then Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin as the prospects to look at a few years from now, the Flyers appeared to be all set. Now, well the gap between the present and the future just grew.

Is this the Flyers’ fault? Not from what we can tell. Maybe the team could have made some accommodations for a player coming from overseas, but also it’s the National Hockey League. They can’t really try and make every single 22-year-old prospect as comfortable as they need to be. There is no doubt that they have made the right moves — they did get Matvei Michkov over two years early, so they certainly know how to treat incoming European talent — so maybe this is just all on the player making a personal choice.

Again, it’s all “We shall see” and nothing more.