Philadelphia Flyers News & Rumors: Drysdale’s Independence, Kolosov’s Chances and More – Hockey Writer – Philadelphia Flyers

After Week 4 of the 2025-26 season, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves seventh in the Eastern Conference in scoring percentage and on track to make the playoffs at season’s end. In this edition of Flyers News & Rumors, we’ll look at Jamie Drysdale’s newfound independence, the call-up of goaltender Aleksei Kolosov, and Trevor Zegras’ home dominance.

Drysdale gains independence

One of Philadelphia’s main strengths early in the season is defense. With the seventh-highest expected goals rate at 5-on-5 and the stellar goaltending of Dan Vladař, subpar offensive output hasn’t stopped the team from winning games so far. Perhaps the best of the unit was Drysdale.

Drysdale’s expected goals rate in 5-on-5 games was 55.52%, ranking among the NHL’s four best defenses. He had similar numbers in previous seasons, but that was only when he was paired with Nick Seeler – a healthy, experienced, fearless defender. However, the tide has finally turned.

The chart below shows how Seeler and Drysdale perform together and apart. For the first time, the young man held the fort.

This echoes the Bowen Byram rumors not too long ago. Drysdale is establishing himself as a true top-four defender, and his performance has seen him average nearly 22 minutes per game. If the Flyers could theoretically trade short-term and long-term partners now, why wouldn’t they? This is something worth paying attention to.

The Flyers placed goaltender Samuel Elson on injured reserve after suffering an injury before practice. The 26-year-old will miss at least two more games. Kolosov took his place, being drafted from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Kolosov, 23, endured a rough patch last season. He has one of the worst save percentages among goaltenders in the AHL and NHL, putting his future prospects in jeopardy. But he bounced back in a big way when the Phantoms began the 2025-26 season. In five games, he has a .918 save percentage, 2.60 goals-against average and a 3-2-0 record.

On November 1, in a 5–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vlada was ejected after losing the ball just 33 seconds into the third quarter, leaving the Flyers trailing by three points. Kolosov filled the gap well, stopping seven shots with ease.

RELATED: Maple Leafs’ depth steals show in 5-2 win over Flyers

With the Flyers set to face the Calgary Flames on Nov. 2, the original plan was for Kolosov to start at least once. But if Vlada gets more rest, he could potentially get two wins. While it was a poor break for the Belarusian rookie hoping to impress head coach Rick Tocchet, he proved to be a solid emergency option.

Whether the 23-year-old’s next start is in the AHL or NHL, his career now has a more positive outlook. With Elson’s contract expiring at the end of this season, Kolosov could even become the team’s No. 2 man in 2026-27 if he continues to be successful.

Zegras shine on home ice

With a big assist in the final seconds of Saturday’s game, Zeglas extended his streak of ice-point streaks at home to eight games and joined some elite teams in the process. He is one of six players to score 12 points at home this season.

Players with more than 12 points at home this season:

Mark Sheffield – 14
Matthew Ness – 13
William Nylander – 13
Kyle Connor – 12
John Tavares – 12
Trevor Zegras – 12pic.twitter.com/IdNwS2Cs3T

— Justin Giampietro (@justingiam) November 2, 2025

The 24-year-old forward, who became a restricted free agent this offseason, has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 11 games. Tied for 30th place^th On a team without a second double-digit scorer, he’s one of the hottest players in the sport right now.

The last player to score at least 12 points in the Flyers’ first eight home games was Claude Giroux in 2017-18, which was one of the highest-scoring seasons in franchise history. Zegras may not reach those heights, but this company highlights his strong start.

Things are looking up for the orange and black. After a rocky start, 20-year-old forward Matvei Michkov is making a comeback. Meanwhile, top prospect Porter Martone is dominating the NCAA. Just as important, the team is winning — they can extend their record to 6-4-1 in four games in Week 5.

Statistics provided by Natural Stat Trick