The Flyers are Doing their Own Players an Injustice by not having a Russian Language Interpreter on Retainer

Aleksei Kolosov made his NHL debut in goal for the Flyers in their 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. 

In doing so, he became the first Belarus-born goaltender to play in the NHL. That's kind of a big deal. 

It's also a big deal considering the path Kolosov took to the NHL and the behind-the-scenes drama that took place during the summer and later during training camp just to get him to agree to play hockey in North America this season.

And the original goal of this post was to talk all about his game and to provide perspective that can only be given by Kolosov about his historic performance that likely had an entire country of hockey fans staying up late into the Belarusian night to stream the game.

However, there will be no thoughts or feelings from Kolosov about his special night. That's because the Flyers did not make him available to speak after the game.

It's not that he wasn't willing, or that he was getting treatment for injury. But rather that the Flyers didn't have a Russian language interpreter available for him to use for an interview. 

Which, honestly, is a bit befuddling. 

For all the organization has done well in recovering itself from the precipice of falling completely off the sports radar under the old regime, thanks primarily to the guidance and leadership of Comcast Spectacor CEO Dan Hilferty and Flyers President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones with an assist from General Manager Danny Briere, this is one decision that makes no sense whatsoever and is frankly a disservice to the fanbase.

Disappointing that the Flyers haven't had a legitimate, professional interpreter at all here this season for Matvei Michkov or, tonight, for Aleksei Kolosov. Doesn't have to be every day. But sometimes would be nice.

— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) October 28, 2024

When you consider the Flyers were bringing in Matvei Michkov this season - the most exciting prospect the franchise has had since Eric Lindros in the early 1990s - and the fact that there was going to be one, if not two Russian-speaking goalies playing for the team this season, it was almost a no-brainer to hire a Russian language interpreter.

And yet, they didn't. Instead, they chose to wing it. They were using defenseman Egor Zamula to serve as the unofficial interpreter for Michkov and coach John Tortorella admitted that wasn't a good idea.

"We have stopped using him as an interpreter, I think we went a little too far there," Tortorella said. "It's time that we talk to (Michkov). It's just too much and I think that has affected (Zamula) a little bit."

Zamula was a healthy scratch from the lineup Sunday, having not played well at all to start 2024-25 after showing some very encouraging growth last season.

So, now the Flyers have a teenager who's a budding star who struggles with English and they now have a 22-year-old goalie prospect who can't speak the language, and rather than providing an interpreter who can express their feelings, the Flyers think the better path is just not to have them talk at all. 

That's just wrong. 

It's wrong for both the fans and the players. 

Look, it's understandable that the Flyers want to protect these young players who are adapting to a new way of life, a new culture and a new language all at the same time that they are expected to perform at their jobs in the toughest league in the world.

But two things can be true. You can protect them from constant media pressure and still have them provide some answers or comments on occasion.

As The Athletic's Kevin Kurz pointed out in his tweet above, having an interpreter doesn't mean these Russian players need to be available all the time. Just every once in a while. 

You know, like when you make history and become the first player from your country to reach the pinnacle of their craft at a very specific and challenging position.

If you look at the media coverage after the game, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a game story without quotes. NBC Sports Philly wrote around Kolosov, focusing on other parts of the Flyers and sneaking in the one, simple quote that Tortorella gave about his goaltender making his debut.

"I thought our goalie played good," Tortorella said. "I thought he made some really good saves."

Yep, that's the in-depth insight fans deserve. 

Sarcasm aside, Kurz went outside the box with his story and talked to former Flyers goalie Martin Biron for analysis. Biron works for TSN in Canada as a hockey analyst and watched the game from the TSN studio. 

And now I'm writing an opinion piece calling out the organization for this oversight. 

Know what none of us are doing? Telling you what Kolosov thought. 

And that's what I mean when I say it's a disservice to the people who pay good money to come see this team play and those who live and breathe on every word written or spoken about this organization. 

All Hilferty has to do is call his close friend John Middleton and see what the Phillies do across the street.

Yes, Major League Baseball has a mandate in place that each team needs to provide a Spanish Language Interpreter for the Spanish-speaking players on each team, but the reality is, those players are not requested ad nauseam. 

The Phillies have had two very good interpreters for the past eight years. Diego Ettedgui was the guy from 2016 through 2023 and Diego D'Aniello replaced him for the 2024 season. 

Both guys were readily available whenever it made sense for one of the Spanish-speaking players to talk, which, again, was not every day. 

But both guys were more than that. I wrote an extensive story about Ettedgui last year when I worked for Crossing Broad. These interpreters are far more than just translators. They become so much more important in the every day lives of the players. 

Whether it's helping them assimilate to a different culture and community than they are used to experiencing. Or helping them with their personal stuff like banking, and groceries, and filling out car loans or rental agreements for an apartment or condo, these interpreters become a trusted friend and confidant for the players.

This is why not having one for Michkov and Kolosov is also a disservice to the players. Helping them communicate more easily both on and off the ice would make everything so much smoother. 

Instead, you get comments like this about Kolosov from defenseman Travis Sanheim after the game:

“The (defensemen) are talking and you can tell he doesn’t fully understand what we are calling and he ends up rimming a couple of the pucks,” Sanheim said. “It’s something we have to continue to work on. It’s a tough spot (for him) to be put in, but I thought he made some key saves tonight.”

Of course it's a tough spot. The Flyers have put him in it and the fact that they aren't offering him and Michkov the easiest path out of that spot is a complete head-scratcher. 

By not having someone more readily available who can help guys like Kolosov and Michkov with communication skills, it becomes not just a detriment to the individual player, but also a detriment to the team.

As for the game, Kolosov made 20 saves and allowed four goals. His team was dreadful defensively on three of them, but he should have stopped this shot from Cole Caufield:

Cole Caufield AGAIN 🤯

That's his EIGHTH of the season! pic.twitter.com/kDGG58Cc2F

— NHL (@NHL) October 28, 2024

It was a bit of revenge for Caufield after Kolosov made an astounding post-to-post save on him earlier in the period on a late-forming 2-on-0 opportunity for Montreal, which was easily Kolosov's best save in the game. 

But overall, the start by Kolosov was promising. Yeah, he had one goal that wasn't great and seemed to give up some juicy rebounds early in the game, but he settled in as the game progressed. 

Overall, he probably gets a B, if you're being a fair grader. And while professional athletes are perfectionists and only want the best possible grade at all times, I bet if you asked Kolosov if he'd take a B-grade performance in his first NHL start, he would. Or how much it meant to be the first Belarusian-born goalie to play in the NHL, he'd beam with pride. 

Shame the Flyers didn't have the foresight to have someone there to help him provide those answers on such an important night in his life.