Are We Headed Towards a Goalie Controversy?

Despite some truly impressive performances from newcomer Dan Vladar, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in a situation similar to what transpired in the previous two seasons.

Sam Ersson, who has clearly lost a greater share of the crease to Vladar, has again been plagued by injury, and has again not performed all that well in respect to raw statistics or relative expectations.

Ersson, 26, was beaten thrice on just 14 shots on goal in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, conceding two goals on six shots in the first period alone.

Some magic from Matvei Michkov and a goal from Jamie Drysdale helped earn the Flyers a point in the loss, as Ersson was tested only seven more times across the second and third periods.

So, while he did ultimately settle in, fans are quickly growing tired of the Swede and his continued injury struggles and average performances.

For the year, Ersson is 2-1-2 but owns a porous 3.03 GAA and .866 save percentage, with the latter ranking 66th in the NHL amongst 73 total goalies.

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And, among the goalies who can be considered true NHL regulars, only Joel Hofer, Jordan Binnington, Sam Montembeault, and Calvin Pickard have been worse.

The problem, at least for the Flyers, is that goalie prospect Aleksei Kolosov has played well enough to say that he’s legitimately earned the chance to have a real look at the NHL level.

The Belarusian appeared in two games with Ersson on the shelf, going 0-1-0 and posting a 1.61 GAA and .929 save percentage.

In fairness, 26 saves on 28 shots across two games isn’t the greatest sample size, but Ersson is 103 for 119 on the season.

To match that, Kolosov would have to go 77 for his next 91, which equates to a .846 save percentage. The 23-year-old wasn’t even that bad last season, and he looks better and worlds more comfortable this year.

Piggybacking on the last point, Kolosov is playing in the AHL this year, as many thought he wouldn’t, and he’s excelling.

In six games, Kolosov is 4-2-0 with a 2.50 GAA, a .918 save percentage, and his first shutout on North American ice.

Kolosov’s .918 save percentage ranks 10th amongst AHL goalies with at least five games played this season, below prospects like Sergei Murashov and Drew Commesso and above the likes of Erik Portillo, Jacob Fowler, and Devon Levi. In other words: exactly where he should be considering his relative lack of experience playing on this side of the world.

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Both Ersson and Kolosov are in contract years and will be restricted free agents at the end of the season, end if the Flyers decide that Ersson isn’t the future or that they can only keep one player, we can expect Kolosov to get another long look, especially now that he appears to have improved significantly.

Kolosov is also the younger option, and his absence from the AHL ranks won’t be too considerable. Fellow prospect Carson Bjarnason, 20, is holding up just fine with his 3-1-2 record, 2.52 GAA, and .918 save percentage.

The longer this current trend continues at the NHL level, though, the more likely these changes become reality.

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