The 2025 Stadium Series at Lincoln Financial Field had all the ingredients for a perfect Philadelphia sports moment: freezing rain, a malfunctioning Zamboni, and a pregame flyover that veered slightly off course and nearly clipped a SEPTA train. The Flyers were set to face the Rangers in front of 70,000 fans and roughly four CIA surveillance drones. But for Aleksei Kolosov, this wasn’t just a game.
It was the end of the mission.
He stood in the tunnel, dressed in full gear—officially listed as an emergency backup goalie, unofficially listed in Langley as a “Level 7 Asset.” His mask had been custom painted for the occasion, featuring Gritty wielding a flamethrower and the phrase “NO PUCKS, NO MERCY” in Cyrillic.
The mission briefing was clear: a high-value target, embedded within the Rangers’ international ownership group, had been traced to a rooftop luxury box. This individual, a known arms broker and influencer investor named Rashid al-Khatib, had recently lured Matvei Michkov to Dubai on the promise of private skill sessions, access to elite analytics, and a free Lamborghini rental.
But once there, al-Khatib stole Michkov’s passport, trapping him in an ultra-modern, indoor sand resort with nothing but overpriced smoothies and vague promises of “networking opportunities.” Michkov had sent a desperate message via Xbox Live. Kolosov was the only one who knew what to do.
Back in Philly, Kolosov’s window opened when Travis Sanheim took a puck to the face. A call went to the tunnel. “Kolosov, you’re in.”
He stepped onto the ice, the crowd roaring—but he had no intention of staying long. As soon as play resumed, he faked a skate issue and signaled for a delay. While the training staff swarmed him, Kolosov skated directly to the bench, ripped off his blocker, and activated a signal beacon hidden in his water bottle. Within moments, Gritty descended from the Jumbotron on a cable line—screaming, flailing, distracting the crowd—while Kolosov snuck up the suite stairwell, helmet still on.
Al-Khatib’s luxury suite was sealed tight, guarded by two men in Rangers scarves and questionable facial hair. Kolosov scaled the exterior wall—because of course he did—using a set of suction-cup goalie gloves and titanium toe picks. Inside, he found Michkov, wearing aviator sunglasses and pacing nervously, his contract stored in a USB drive around his neck.
“You came,” Michkov whispered.
“Of course,” Kolosov said. “You’re the only hope this team has.”
Then al-Khatib burst in, flanked by guards.
“You’ll never get out of here,” he sneered. “He’s mine until 2028.”
Kolosov’s response was simple: he hurled a puck directly into the suite’s espresso machine, which exploded in a cloud of froth and chaos. In the confusion, he grabbed Michkov and dove through the suite’s glass window—landing mid-ice during the second-period intermission mascot race. The crowd erupted. Gritty tackled a guy dressed as a cheesesteak. Michkov was safe.
The next day, the headline read:
"Kolosov Saves the Day, Michkov Saved from Rental Car Scam, Flyers Win in Shootout."
Daniel Brière and John Tortorella—now working full-time as an off-grid IT contractor in the Poconos—met with Kolosov privately.
“We know you never wanted to be here,” Brière admitted. “But you saved the franchise’s future. And more importantly—you saved our kid from Dubai.”
Kolosov just nodded, eyes distant. “Mission complete.”
“We’ll let you go back to the KHL,” Brière said. “No AHL. No questions asked. Just... don’t disappear again.”
Kolosov stood, packed his gear into a matte black duffel bag, and turned to leave.
“Will you ever play here again?” Tortorella asked quietly.
Kolosov paused.
“If the city ever needs saving,” he said, “you’ll know where to find me.”
Then he was gone. Vanished down a jet bridge at PHL. Back to Minsk. Back to legend.
Some say he’s playing net for Dynamo again. Others claim he’s been seen in the Alps, stopping slapshots for MI6 training drills. But in Philadelphia, they remember him for what he really was:
A goaltender. A ghost. A savior.
And above all else...
Flyers property until 2026.
Prompt: Chapter 4, please. Work in that Tortorella met with him to say he was going to get fired from the team so he could be Kolosov's secret contact who would do most of the computer hacking Kolosov needed.
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