Another contract standoff in Philadelphia at the start of training camp!

Insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Tuesday in his 32 Thoughts column that Flyers prospect goalie Alexei Kolosov did not report to camp in Philadelphia and remains in Russia.

“Teams who have inquired were told a second-round pick is the price, but, before anyone is willing to do so, they would have to figure out if Kolosov would join them,” wrote Friedman.

The sticking point remains that Kolosov is reluctant to leave home, but that did not soften general manager Daniel Briere, who has refused to grant the goaltender the request to loan him back to Dinamo Minsk of Russia’s KHL.

“It’s time for him to step up and respect the contract,” he said at Flyers rookie camp Tuesday.

Kolosov signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers back in 2023, but was loaned him to Dinamo Minsk last season. He then came to Philly to play in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, taking part in two games last season in the AHL.

Reports claim that Kolosov didn’t want to start this season in the AHL and wanted “to be guaranteed a spot in the NHL.” When he did not get the guarantee of starting the season with the main roster, who has a goaltending tandem set for this season in Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedetov, Kolosov wanted to stay in the KHL. But the Flyers and GM Briere are not loaning him back.

“We agreed last year to loan him back for one year because he wanted to stay home, but at some point you sign a contract and we want him here,” he said. “We want him to start integrating himself to the way the game is played here in North America, with smaller ice, with learning the language and all of that. And I guess he doesn’t see it that way at the moment.”

The standoff could always come to an end if another NHL team is able to get Kosolov to commit to leaving Russia and get a trade done with Philadelphia.

This is a bad look for the Flyers again as Kolosov is the second high-profile recent draft pick who has refused to play in Philly since Briere took over as GM. Forward Cutter Gauthier was selected fifth by the Flyers in the 2022 NHL Draft, but was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in January in return for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft.

Briere was hoping to get Kosolov some experience with the AHL’s Phantoms this season and becoming third on their depth chart.

“When you look at the way we’re built right now, there’s an opportunity there for him,” he said.

However, for now the standoff between the Flyers and Kosolov prevents that opportunity from taking place…