Flyers announce rookie camp schedule and roster; Alexei Kolosov will not attend

On Thursday, players wearing Philadelphia Flyers uniforms will hit the ice at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, New Jersey for the first time since way back in April for rookie camp — led by their top six prospects in the organization, at least according to PHLY’s most recent ranking.

The team’s No. 8 prospect, Alexei Kolosov? He remains MIA.

On Wednesday morning, the Flyers officially announced the details of their yearly rookie camp, which precedes the start of the main NHL training camp by one week. While the 27 players arrived on Wednesday for off-ice activities, they won’t begin formal practices until Thursday — but those on-ice activities will continue through next Tuesday. The camp also includes two rookie games at the PPL Center in Allentown against the New York Rangers’ prospects, on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Matvei Michkov will indeed be attending, meaning that this will be the first time he’ll wear a Flyers jersey in a formal team-sanctioned setting since signing his entry-level contract back in July. Top junior prospects Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey will also be in attendance, as will Emil Andrae and Samu Tuomaala, who are both coming off their first full North American pro seasons in 2023-24.

Goaltender Alexei Kolosov, however, is not on the rookie camp roster. As a player with no NHL and only limited AHL experience — two appearances during his brief stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the end of the 2023-24 season — Kolosov was certainly extended an invite to the rookie portion of camp, and apparently chose not to attend.

This comes on the heels of a summer’s worth of rumors and reports hinting that Kolosov would prefer to continue playing in Europe in 2024-25, rather than follow the initial organizational plan of coming over to North America for his first pro season in the second season of his NHL entry-level contract, after spending 2023-24 on loan with hometown club Dinamo Minsk in the KHL.

In theory, Kolosov could still arrive in time for main camp next week. He remains under contract with the Flyers, and the organization’s contention is that Kolosov must adhere to the terms of said contract and cannot play for another club in another league while that contract is in effect. But his absence from rookie camp strongly hints that this standoff between organization and prospect is just beginning.

Aside from Kolosov’s absence, there are no other major surprises in terms of attendees, though it’s notable that all of Andrae, Helge Grans, Elliot Desnoyers (2020 fifth round pick and No. 9 in the PHLY prospect rankings) and Zayde Wisdom (2020 fourth round pick, unranked by PHLY) will be participating in rookie camp despite not attending summer development camp. For Andrae, he will be trying to use rookie camp as a springboard to making the big club out of main camp; Desnoyers and Wisdom, on the other hand, will be looking to shake off thoroughly disappointing 2023-24 campaigns and start fresh.

A deeper-dive analysis on Flyers rookie camp can be found here, for PHLY Diehard members only.

Camp roster

Forwards (15)

• J.R. Avon
• Denver Barkey
• Sawyer Boulton (AHL invite)
• Nick Capone (AHL invite)
• Elliot Desnoyers
• Jacob Gaucher (AHL invite)
• Alexis Gendron
• Jett Luchanko
• Matvei Michkov
• Matt Miller (AHL invite)
• Massimo Rizzo
• Santeri Sulku
• Samu Tuomaala
• Zayde Wisdom
• Josh Zakreski (camp invite)

Defensemen (10)

• Emil Andrae
• Oliver Bonk
• Emile Chouinard (AHL invite)
• Spencer Gill
• Helge Grans
• Matteo Mann
• Hunter McDonald
• Ethan Samson
• Sam Sedley (AHL invite)
• Carter Sotheran

Goalies (2)

• Carson Bjarnason
• Sam Hillebrandt (camp invite)

Camp schedule

Thursday: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (practice)

Friday: 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM (morning skate), 7:05 PM rookie game vs. New York (in Allentown)

Saturday: 5:05 PM rookie game vs. New York (in Allentown)

Sunday: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (practice)

Monday: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (practice)

Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (practice)