The New York Islanders don’t have enough nets to go around with all the goaltenders they have under contract. In a couple years, New York’s netminder situation could be even more crowded.
He isn’t one of the better-known prospects in the Islanders organization, but goaltender Ilya Sorokin has shown a lot of promise in his young career and could be NHL ready within the next couple of seasons.
Sorokin will only turn 21 next month, yet he’s already played four years in the KHL. Within the last season, he really blossomed into a goaltending star.
2015-16 was his first full year with CSKA Moscow (they acquired him midway through 2014-15), and when the schedule started, he was the team’s third-string goaltender. By season’s end, he was one of the best netminders in the league, as he posted an astonishing 1.06 GAA, .953 save percentage and 10 shutouts in 28 regular season games. Sorokin continued his strong play into the playoffs and led his team to Game 7 of the KHL Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to Mognitogorsk.
Despite the loss, Sorokin still had unbelievable numbers during the postseason run, finishing with a 1.32 GAA and a .945 save percentage.
Sorokin played so well this past year that he earned a spot on Russia’s World Championship roster. He likely won’t play, but Sorokin will gain invaluable experience going and sitting behind two NHL starting goaltenders, Semyon Varlamov and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Even if he plays and excels in the tournament, it doesn’t appear likely that Sorokin will be content with his play over the last 12 months.
“That’s just one year,” Sorokin said through a translator while at the Islanders’ new practice facility in Eisenhower Park according to Newsday. “I have to prove a lot of things. I need consistency. You can have one year of perfect play, but you need another year to show you can be on that consistent level.”
NHL fans have to always be cautious about being excited at the potential of KHL players. It’s hard to find a fan base that knows this better than the Islanders. New York drafted first-round talent Kirill Petrov in the third round of the 2008 NHL draft, but because of his contract, he wasn’t able to come over and play until last fall. Then, after 13 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL, Petrov returned to Russia, ironically signing a deal with CSKA Moscow.
Sorokin hasn’t said anything about definitely wanting to move to and live in the United States (it wouldn’t mean much even if had did), but he did make his first trip to the U.S. this month and several things impressed him.
“Everything my friends tell me about it, it’s pretty close to what they said,” he said. “I went to Times Square and it was amazing, like in the movies.
“I talked a little with Bobrovsky about the NHL. He said here, everything is on the highest level. Everything is done for the players to play, you don’t have to think about anything else. So we will see.”
He was also extremely impressed by the fact 2,000 Islanders fans filled the Northwell Health Ice Center for the scrimmage he participated in this month. The young goaltender said he had never practiced in front of that many people before in his life.
It seems like Sorokin has a desire to play at the highest level, but fans will have to wait and see. Assuming he does come over to play with the Islanders within the next couple seasons, New York is going to have some decisions to make.
Thomas Greiss and JF Berube will be unrestricted and restricted free agents, respectively, at the end of 2016-17. Jaroslav Halak, who many have called to be traded, is signed two more seasons and then will become an unrestricted free agent. The expansion draft is also a concern, as Halak might be a prime candidate to be picked next year.
Three goalies is a lot, but four is certainly way too many for an NHL team. With Sorokin’s potential, the Islanders netminder situation will not be a place of intrigue for just one season but many to come.
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