The writing was on the wall, and now it has been lacquered over.

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Brière announced Tuesday that goaltender Alexei Kolosov will not report to training camp, which opens up with physical testing on Wednesday.

"All we know is he's under contract with us," Brière said Tuesday from the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. "And you know, the way we see it, if he wants to play hockey, he has to respect his contract for us. Yeah, we have no interest in loaning him back. We want him to develop here."

When asked if Kolosov will have his contract tolled or paused, Brière said that they are "far from that" and that "we still hope he changes his mind and decides to come." Kolosov signed an entry-level contract in 2023 before returning to the Kontinental Hockey League on loan last season with Dinamo Minsk.

Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov, who made his NHL debut in April and signed a two-year contract after the season, had his entry-level contract tolled when he was required to fulfill a year of military obligations. The tolling of a contract would allow the Flyers to retain the player's rights without burning a year off his deal. But for now, at least, the Flyers are waiting before they make any such decision with Kolosov.

The official announcement is a few months in the making. There was smoke in May, following the end of the Phantoms' playoff run, that the Belarusian was homesick and wanted to return to the KHL. Kolosov, 22, is considered a top prospect in the pipeline and appeared in two games in Lehigh Valley after compiling a 49-56-10 record with a 2.56 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 120 KHL games.

"As far as we know, there's nothing there," Brière told The Philadelphia Inquirer at the NHL Scouting Combine in early June. "He did tell us that it was an adjustment at the end of the year. He was up-front and honest with us and told us it was tough coming over by himself and that there were no other Russian-speaking players when he was there.

"His agent called us when that report came out and he said he feels terrible and he didn't speak to any reporter. Sometimes it's just, he might have said that to a friend of his and reported it to a reporter or whatever. As far as we understand, it's fine. He's still going to report, he's going to try out for the Flyers. He's going to play in Philadelphia or Lehigh Valley next year. That's our understanding. We have big hopes with him for the future, so we certainly want him here in North America playing in the Flyers organization."

Kolosov was represented by CAA Sports when rumors began to swirl, but switched to Daniel Milstein of Gold Star Sports Management during the summer.

"I was as surprised as everybody behind those doors when I read what I read," Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière said about rumors that Kolosov did not feel welcome during his brief stay in the AHL. "And to be honest, like, maybe I'm the worst coach in the world, but I make people around me comfortable. You know, I'm a friendly guy; you guys [the media] know me for 15 years.

"I don't know. It was weird to read the stuff. And again, I don't think it's coming from the kid. Stuff got translated. Who said, what? Yeah, it's frustrating, because he looked really good in practice. He came to us, and he hadn't skated for three weeks or a month, so he had some catching up to do. And we were in a playoff race, and Cal Petersen played unbelievable down the stretch, so it was a tough spot for him.

"But guys asked him to go out every night for dinner. He said, no, and I get it, [he] doesn't speak English, so that's going to be tough. But again, I know my English is not great now, but I didn't speak English when I moved to Peoria, [Illinois], when I was 20. So it's part of pro hockey when you go from one country to the other, you got to learn the language. But again, I don't know, I really don't know what to believe what's out there, because the kid never told us that. So I wish him luck. Hopefully, we'll see him soon, because he is a talented kid. But I'll play the guys."

The no-show comes a few weeks after Brière revealed on the Nasty Knuckles podcast that he was unsure whether Kolosov would report to training camp.

"Nothing has been said directly to us," Brière said on the podcast. "We were trying to get some answers. And again, Alexei doesn't speak English, so we can't just grab the phone and call him. And it was tough to get answers from his agent or clear answers. There's always dancing around the pot."

The Flyers signed goalie Eetu Mäkiniemi to a professional tryout offer (PTO) on Aug. 29, according to his agency WD Sports and Entertainment. The Finn has two NHL starts and has spent the past two seasons in the San Jose Sharks organization, primarily playing for the AHL Barracuda, who also play in San Jose. Last season, Mäkiniemi compiled an 8-8-0 record with a .900 save percentage and 3.14 goals against average in 18 AHL games.

With Sam Ersson and Fedotov signed to NHL contracts, Kolosov would have all but certainly begun the season with Lehigh Valley. Petersen, Parker Gahagen, and the recently signed Keith Petruzzelli are the three goalies currently listed on the Phantoms roster.

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